Since the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution declaring the week following the second Sunday of September as Arts in Education Week just a short while ago (the end of July), I feel like our sector has been speeding along trying to find quick ways to celebrate the occasion.

Although time was short, I suggested that educators might see this as a way to celebrate this new week for the first time around by starting a project with students that would end later in the fall. For example, a music educator may start writing a new school song to be performed at an assembly in October or November; a visual art educator may start working on a mural project that begins the planning stages next week; or, a dance educator begins a class’ first performance during the week.

No matter what you decide to do to celebrate, it doesn’t have to start and end all during next week.

In fact, some of the brilliant minds that participate in the #ArtsEd chat on Twitter every Thursday night, came up with the idea to have those engaged to pledge to support arts education in their community and vow to testify on behalf of their local programs at a school board meeting during Youth Arts Month in March 2011.

You can find out more about our endeavors on a Ning site created by fellow blogger Joan Weber and officially pledge to testify on this page. For the latter, Americans for the Arts will send you a reminder to testify as we get closer to March and will provide advocacy tools to help prepare you for your big day.

Finally, we’re celebrating Arts in Education Week with our third Arts Education Blog Salon starting bright and early on Monday morning. This time, we have some new friends joining the veterans who have been writing for all three previous incarnations of the ARTSblog event. Join me, member of the Arts Education Council of Americans for the Arts, and 12 other brave souls as we tackle arts education issues big and small during the week. We invite you to comment and start a debate if you feel so inclined!

Because of the short notice given to us by the House, I can’t help but think of this as a dress rehearsal for future Arts in Education Weeks, but if we can manage to put all of this together in a little over a month, imagine what we can do for 2011…