National Exhibition Month – May 2007!

Join the Coalition of Essential Schools in a nation-wide campaign to promote and celebrate exhibitions as a preferred form of student assessment.

CES National has designated the month of May as “National Exhibition Month.” Essential schools and support organizations are urged to participate in activities that make their exhibition work public.

National Exhibition Month is an annual campaign, launched in 2006 with the intent to scale up the number and intensity of activities and to draw in additional participants every year. The long range goals for National Exhibition Month are:

  • Bring to the public a new awareness of exhibitions as a compelling form of assessment
  • Reshape opinion about the assessments that should be used to measure and support the skills and knowledge of our young people, what it means to be educated, and what kind of student demonstration of mastery is most educationally appropriate
  • Build on the existing strengths of the CES network to increase schools’ capacity to do exhibitions well
  • Build and strengthen a coalition of organizations supporting performance-based assessment
How You Can Participate

 We hope you’re inspired to join in! Here’s how:

  • Schools can schedule exhibitions during the month of May and hold a public event after the fact to recognize the exhibitions that have occurred and celebrate student achievements with community members
  • Schools can invite neighboring educators, community leaders, parents, legislators, city officials, or other thought leaders to sit on juries and experience exhibitions first-hand
  • Schools can educate media, parents, and community members by inviting them to take part in the exhibition process
  • Schools can invite local media to cover an exhibition, interview students and staff, and write/produce a story
  • Schools and organizations can document their exhibition practices and achievements and send reports to CES National to disseminate via the CES website and In Common, our affiliate newsletter
  • Schools and organizations can post a summary of their activities on their own websites or describe them in newsletters, blogs, or reports to community audiences
  • Schools, organizations, or individuals can issue a local press release describing their involvement in the national campaign, interface with media, write a letter to the editor, or submit an Op/Ed piece to the local newspaper

CES National will promote and document activities throughout the month of May, and will provide supporting materials such as an exhibitions fact sheet, tips and checklists for using exhibitions, and an advocacy kit for interacting with the public and the media.

Join Us!

 If you are interested in joining us in this campaign, we ask that you begin by sharing this document with your colleagues and initiating discussions about the form your participation might take.

Check the CES National website for more information about the campaign, including an online survey in which you can tell us about your plans and materials that will help you plan your participation.
www.essentialschools.org