(RED BANK)— The Count Basie Center for the Arts has been approved for a $60,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support its mindALIGNED program. mindALIGNED is a collective impact initiative focused on engaging schools and communities in the arts. The Basie Center project, founded in 2016, is among 1,130 projects across the country, totaling more than $31 million, that were selected during this second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2023 funding.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is pleased to support a wide range of projects, including mindALIGNED, demonstrating the many ways the arts enrich our lives and contribute to healthy and thriving communities,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “These organizations play an important role in advancing the creative vitality of our nation and helping to ensure that all people can benefit from arts, culture, and design.”

“Area teachers who have installed mindALIGNED’s creative teaching strategies have reported an increase in student attendance and engagement,” said Samantha Giustiniani, Senior Director, Education and Outreach at the Count Basie Center for the Arts. “This grant This grant will help the continued expansion of the mindALIGNED program in the region, and deepen the impact the initiative already has in current participating school districts.”

mindALIGNED centers around providing teachers and staff creative teaching strategies and tools to utilize in their instruction throughout the day and curricula. Research has found that teachers report the creative teaching strategies weren’t just effective, but able to be implemented immediately to create student engagement. In addition, schools form arts partnerships for artist residencies, arts-based field trips and assemblies to expand arts experiences for students and the school community.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.