Earlier programs designed to reshape arts education convinced the Getty Education Institute for the Arts that successful implementation of a comprehensive approach to art in classrooms would depend on grassroots initiatives led by consortia of school districts, universities, museums, and other arts and education organizations.

The Getty Education Institute established its Regional Institute Grant (RIG) program in 1987 to support the development and operation of the regional consortia. Through a rigorous review process, six of fifty-two applying consortia were selected to receive matching grants as regional institutes. The Getty Education Institute made a commitment to provide national leadership and long-term financial support to the six RIGs. Such extended, consistent support, the evaluators determined, ensures sufficient opportunity to progress from one phase of an initiative to another, resulting in more lasting educational change.

The six RIGs were expected to serve as research and development centers and to prepare a critical mass of school districts to implement DBAE districtwide over a five-year period. As research and development centers, the regional institutes were given the latitude to create innovative and effective professional development programs; provide technical assistance, instructional materials, experts, and other resources to schools; attract and mobilize school districts as partners and prepare them in DBAE; and forge strong links to their respective communities by finding local funding partners. The Getty awarded $3.5 million in seed money to the RIGs, while the institutes raised more than twice that amount from other sources.

Evaluators concluded that the most important contribution of the regional institutes during the seven-year evaluation period discussed in this report was their crucial role in transforming DBAE theory into exemplary practice. The RIGs, meanwhile, have emerged as important leaders and resources for arts education.

The evolution of change communities within and among the RIG programs over time persuaded evaluators that the reform of art education cannot be achieved in schools by art and classroom teachers working alone. Evaluators further determined that the RIG programs that functioned best were those whose directors saw the individuals, organizations, and institutions within their consortia to be equivalent shareholders and partners with significant responsibility for shaping DBAE practices.

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