APPLY TO HOST A
TATI Regional Practicum
At a Glance
Regional PRacticum
Regional Practicums offer fully-funded professional development opportunities for Teaching Artists (TAs) within a selected community music or El Sistema-inspired program. Learning alongside guest TAs from within the same region, participants gain new skills and tools that directly support the continued growth of their teaching practice as they hear from expert clinicians, reflect together through collaborative conversations, observe teaching artistry in real-time, and build a network of peer Teaching Artists.
Through the Host Application process, selected organizations will have the opportunity to craft the Regional Practicum to align with their program’s greatest needs and areas for growth. Thanks to generous private funders, each Regional Practicum’s cost, staffing, and planning is provided in full by the Teaching Artists Training Institute. Up to five Host Organizations across five regions of the US are selected each school year.
Host Organizations will...
- Receive two fully-funded days of professional development, designed with their organization’s needs in mind (value of $15,000).
- Select from curated training workshops developed to best address your program’s needs and areas for growth. Menu of topics provided once finalists are selected.
- Receive up to 15 full-scholarship seats reserved for your Teaching Artists (value of $425/person).
- Enjoy one evening networking event sponsored by TATI to develop or further the community between Teaching Artists and other key constituents in your region.
- Have the opportunity to showcase their unique people, programs, venues, and events through the integration of 15-20 additional Teaching Artists from nearby regional organizations.
- Build brand recognition and position their program on a national level through TATI’s marketing and recruitment efforts.
Teaching Artists will...
- Learn together in culturally-relevant lectures and workshops on topics selected by the Host Organization and led by clinicians from TATI’s faculty of top field experts.
- Engage in guided discussions, reflections, and idea-swaps to deepen peer connections and community network.
- Witness exceptional peer teaching and student support in real-time through guided observations and feedback.
- Increase knowledge, skills, and communication between peers, program administrators, students, community, and more.
- Return to classrooms with ideas and valuable techniques to implement in their programs and share with colleagues.
- Begin a network of Teaching Artists who collaborate regularly and reach-out to one another for guidance and advice.
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
TATI holds five Regional Practicums each year. Due to the size of the US, region availability may shift from year to year.
Each year, regions are generally defined as follows:
- WEST AND PACIFIC NORTHWEST: CA, NV, OR, WA, AK
- MIDWEST: IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI
- SOUTHWEST AND ROCKY MOUNTAINS: AZ, CO, NM, OK, TX, UT
- NORTHEAST: CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, NJ, PA, RI, VT, Canada
- MID-ATLANTIC: NC, VA, WV, MD, DE, NJ, PA
- SOUTHEAST: SC, GA, AL, FL, LA, MS, AS
For the 2024-2025 School Year, applications will be accepted for the NORTHEAST, SOUTHWEST Region and MIDWEST RegionS.
Deadline extended! Applications submitted by April 19, 2024 will be considered for one of the following school years:
2024-2025:
Accepting applications from Host Organizations in the Northeast, Southwest, and Midwest Regions (excluding Chicago).
2025-2026:
Accepting applications from Host Organizations in the West (excluding Northern CA), Midwest-Chicago, Southwest and/or Rocky Mountains, Southeast, and Northeast.
HOST ELIGIBILITY
Criteria to Apply
Organization…
- Is a designated K-12 music education nonprofit organization in the US or Canada,
- Demonstrates a commitment to social change through music,
- Enrolls a majority of students who have little or no access to high-quality music instruction outside of this program,
- Provides free or significantly reduced cost for program participants,
- Utilizes majority group instruction through instrumental ensembles, group practice, and sectionals,
- Has a consistent weekly class schedule that is offered more than two days per week,
- Employs at least 10 core Teaching Artists,
- Has not hosted a TATI Regional Practicum during the past two school years (2021-2023).
Organizations are invited to submit an individual RFP or partner with an additional organization to submit a Co-Host RFP. Co-Host Organizations must both meet the criteria as outlined above, with the exception of number of employed Teaching Artists.
IMPORTANT DATES
aPPLICATION tIMELINE
FEBRUARY 27, 2024
Applications Open
APRIL 19, 2024
Deadline to Apply to be considered for the 2024-2025 school year
APRIL 8 - 26, 2024
Semi-Finalist Interviews
MAY 10, 2024
Final Decision Notifications
READY TO APPLY?
faqS
Individual applications are designed for medium to large sized organizations, who have at least 15 core Teaching Artists and a robust offering of weekly music classes. These organizations have the capacity to support all aspects of a two day professional development event.
Co-host applications are designed for small to medium sized organizations. Each organization may have less than 10 core Teaching Artists and may not have the capacity or resources to fully meet the aspects needed to support a two day event. By collaborating with a nearby organization, co-hosts are able to still offer a valuable professional development experience to their Teaching Artists, while alleviating some of the commitments by sharing responsibilities across organizations.
Organizations with fewer than 10 core Teaching Artists are asked to find a partnering organization in their region and submit a Co-Host application together. See above for additional information.
One of TATI’s core values is to increase access to high-quality professional development to organizations and their Teaching Artists by removing financial barriers. As such, if selected to host a Regional Practicum, TATI covers all costs associated with the event, including meals, clinicians, supplies, and 15 comped TA registrations.
The Host Organization is asked to secure an appropriate space for the 2 days of workshops- depending on their location, this may incur a cost to the Organization. However, many past Hosts have utilized school spaces or donations from community partners to alleviate this cost.
TATI also advocates for fair compensation of participating Teaching Artists, especially if the Host Organization requires their attendance. This might look like paying a basic hourly amount per TA, or offering a professional development stipend.
TATI’s Regional Practicums are designed to provide high-quality professional development workshops to music nonprofits across the country. As such, TATI considers the following metrics when reviewing applications:
- Organization demonstrates a need for Teaching Artist professional development that will not otherwise be addressed in their program this school year.
- Organization offers a variety of classes through different instruments, subjects and/or levels.
- Organization demonstrates a commitment to the growth of their Teaching Artists and has a plan for continued follow up and support post-Practicum.
- Organization has a proven interest in collaborating with programs and Teaching Artists within their region.
- Organization demonstrates an understanding of individual and regional areas of growth, with intent for impact.
- Organization has clearly unique program offerings they are excited to showcase to visiting Teaching Artists.
Yes! TATI collaborates with all selected Host organizations to choose dates that work best for the Host, TATI, and surrounding organizations.
Regional Practicums are traditionally offered during the main part of the school year (October-May), with the months of December and January as “black-out dates”.