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PTA believes all that children deserve a quality arts education and encourages students to pursue artistic expression through participation in its annual Reflections Program. The program offers students the opportunity to create works of art for fun and recognition. Students in preschool through grade 12 are encouraged to submit works of art in six areas: literature, musical composition, photography, dance, film/video, and the visual arts (which includes art forms such as drawing, painting, print making, and collage). In its more than 30-year history, the program has encouraged millions of students across the nation and in American schools overseas to explore their artistic talents. The Reflections Program was started in 1969 by then Colorado PTA President Mary Lou Anderson.
Each year, the Reflections Program challenges students to create art that relates to a specific theme. Themes are selected from thousands of ideas submitted by students to PTA's Reflections Program Theme Search. Past themes have included "A Different Kind of Hero," "If I Could Give the World A Gift", "Imagine That", and "Exploring New Beginnings".
Students participate in the Reflections Program by submitting entries to a local PTA or PTSA. Any PTA/PTSA in good standing is eligible to sponsor a Reflections Program.
Participation
Young artists participate in the Reflections Program through a local PTA or PTSA. A student may submit an entry in any of the four arts areas listed below. Only original works of art are accepted. Depending on state and local PTA guidelines, students may enter more than one work of art.
Arts areas*
- Literature
- Musical Composition
- Photography
- Visual Arts
- Film/Video
- Dance
Participation in the Reflections Program is organized by school grade. Student works are critiqued against others in the same grade division. This allows recognition and judging of artwork according to appropriate developmental age and skill levels.
Grade divisions
- Primary (preschool - grade 2)
- Intermediate (grades 3 - 5)
- Middle/Junior (grades 6 - 8)
- Senior (grades 9 - 12)
The Reflections Program is structured for PTAs to recognize students at the local, council, district, state, and national levels. Entries are first judged at the local level, where selected works are chosen to represent the PTA at each subsequent level (council, district, or state) depending on each state PTA's structure. Once entries reach the state level, the state PTA may select entries to submit to National PTA. Awards of Excellence and Awards of Merit are recognized at the Annual National PTA Convention and displayed in a virtual gallery on National PTA's website.
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