Arts Rich Schools Application

Deadline to Apply - January 19!

The Arts Rich Schools Program & Awards is a significant step for TAA toward broader systems change work – not as a stand-alone program, but one that supplements our teacher training by encouraging school systems to better support their own faculty with high quality arts programs and bold leadership.

Please consider applying on behalf of your school for this honor. Click on the link below to view and submit the application form. Applications are due by January 19, 2024. Please email (taa@belmont.edu) or call (615-460-5451) the TAA office for more information.

About the Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation...

The support arm of the Tennessee Arts Academy is the Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation (TAAF), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization established to aid and assist in TAA’s growth and expansion. Its twenty-nine member Board of Directors is led by President Stephen Coleman. The Foundation’s Board shares in the belief that educators trained at the Tennessee Arts Academy are better equipped and motivated to serve their students, significantly raise achievement levels, and effect positive and lasting change in classrooms throughout the state. The Foundation actively supports the Academy in numerous hands-on ways and annually raises over $600,000 for Academy programs and scholarships through donations, fundraisers and grants.

The Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to its Board of Directors. The new members include Bud Akers, Michael Meise, and Jeff Myrick.

Frank Bluestein, TAAF Executive Director, praised the new board members for their wide range of experience and their commitment to arts education. "Each new board member brings a wealth of valuable knowledge and a skill set that will help move the TAA Foundation forward. We are so glad to have them on our team."

The bios of the three new board members follow below:

Bud Akers

Ottie C. “Bud” Akers has been a successful attorney practicing in the fields of corporate, securities, and entertainment law for thirty-eight years. Early in his career he was a creative marketing strategist and used his deep understanding of advertising to improve on an enterprise’s presence in its media environment. He attended Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, as well as the University of Virginia graduate school, and he earned two English degrees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is managing director and founder of Data Routers, Inc., an American holding company home to more than fifty category-leading digital products and brands. He continues to be managing attorney for his law firm.

Akers has been actively engaged in a variety of artistic pursuits which include managing a rock band, assisting with the formation of a chamber orchestra, acting in and building sets for theatre productions, writing plays and short stories, and authoring reviews of arts-related activities for a weekly publication. He also has a passion for the visual arts and has represented several graphic artists and art studios. He continues to work with a Los Angeles-based movie company and publishes movie reviews for his blog, Cinema Bebop.



Akers grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and practiced law in Birmingham for many years. He is married to his childhood sweetheart, Marcia. They recently celebrated their fifty-second anniversary together. Akers has one daughter, Kate, and one granddaughter, Ruby.

Michael Meise

Michael Richard Meise, the son of German immigrants, was born in Teaneck, New Jersey. In 1964, at the age of five, his family moved to Dickson, Tennessee. Meise graduated from Dickson County High School in 1976. He went on to earn a bachelor of science degree, summa cum laude, in music education and a master of arts degree, with honors, in language and literature from Austin Peay State University.

Meise was a public school teacher for thirty-five years before pursuing a career in law. He earned his law degree from the Nashville School of Law, where he was a member of the Nashville School of Law Legal Aid Society and served on the honor council. He graduated in 2007 and was admitted to the Tennessee Bar the same year. He served as an assistant public defender in the 23rd Judicial District and was elected to the bench of the Dickson County Juvenile and Probate Court in 2014, where he served for eight years. As judge of the juvenile court, he dedicated his time and passion to the welfare of the families that came before him. He is a trained presenter in the area of adverse childhood experiences and is devoted to compassionate approaches in seeking successful dispositions. 



Meise is a member of the Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, where he served on the legislative committee. He is also a member of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Tennessee Bar Association, the Mid-Cumberland Council on Children and Youth, and the Drug Free Dickson Coalition. He is a member of the Dickson Good Morning Rotary Club and director of the chancel choir of the Dickson First Presbyterian Church. He has managed his own law firm since 2007. His primary areas of practice include wills and estate planning, probate, juvenile law, criminal defense, and contracts.

Jeff Myrick

Jeff Myrick has held positions in hospitality, education, and healthcare for almost twenty-five years. His current role as director of learning and development for Parallon, a subsidiary of HCA Healthcare, sits at the intersection of those disciplines.



Myrick received a bachelor of music degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in music business with a vocal performance emphasis. His career began with Gaylord Entertainment Company in Nashville, but his love for choral music redirected him to earn a master of arts degree from Middle Tennessee State University in choral music education.

His tenure as an arts educator took place in Williamson County as a choral director and general music teacher. Myrick also served as an instructional coach and department chair, and was named a school-level teacher of the year. After earning his educational leadership license through Trevecca Nazarene University, he was nominated to participate in the Williamson County Schools Leadership Academy for Aspiring School Leaders.



In 2009, Myrick and his family entered the disability community after the birth of his son Silas, who has Down syndrome. In addition to serving and advocating for various organizations, Myrick was invited to serve as an advocate on advisory councils for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt as well as for the Tennessee Department of Health. He was also selected to participate as a family advocate in a cohort of the Leadership in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Program under Vanderbilt's Kennedy Center. Myrick has served in and deployed with the US Army Reserve’s Military Police Corps, but he is prouder of his service as an arts educator and is a tireless advocate for arts education.

Award-Winning Composer Jennifer Higdon Shares "How To Start From A Blank Page

By Moving Forward One Step At A Time" At TAA 2023

"My week at Tennessee Arts Academy has been transformative. I have been reminded that I am not "just a teacher", but an artist. I have a fire to go into this school year ready to create with my students, live in the process, and find value in every step along the way. My spark to create, perform, and learn has been reignited."

- Brittany Thompson, Middle TN Upper Middle/Secondary

TAA 2023 Theatre Participant

Academy Essentials

 What You Need To Know

WHO, WHEN AND WHERE: The Tennessee Arts Academy is held on the campus of Belmont University in Nashville on July 14-19, 2024. The Academy is designed for K-12 arts specialists, elementary classroom teachers, librarians, pre-service college education majors, and school administrators.

WHAT: Intensive discipline-specific training, nationally renowned speakers and performers, unique interdisciplinary workshops, and a host of fun and festive special events are all part of the TAA schedule.

FEES: The registration fee is only $449.00. On-campus housing is available for a nominal additional fee.

REGISTRATION INFO: Click here to apply for the 2024 Academy. Early Registration is available through March 1, 2024. During early registration, all qualified applicants are accepted. First-time applicants receive priority acceptance. Regular registration begins on March 2, 2024 and continues through the end of June or until classes have been filled.

Don't miss the 2024 Tennessee Arts Academy! 

It is a life changing and awe-inspiring week.

TAA MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Tennessee Arts Academy is to provide exceptional quality professional development, arts training, support, encouragement, information and renewal to K-12 teachers and to promote and honor the role of the arts in the lives of all Tennesseans.

The Tennessee Arts Academy is a project of the

Tennessee Department of Education

and is funded under a grant contract with the State of Tennessee.

Major corporate, organizational, and individual funding support

for the Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation in 2024 is generously provided by:

Significant sponsorship, scholarship, and event support for the

Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation in 2024 is generously provided by:

Stephen and Marion Coleman; Morel Enoch; Dorothy M. Gillespie Foundation; Jim Holcomb; Patricia A. Hudson; National Endowment for the Arts; J. Tabor Stamper; Theatrical Rights Worldwide; Jeanette and Bill Watkins; Watkins College of Art at Belmont University; and Talmage Watts.

The Tennessee Arts Academy is funded in part by

Metro Arts / Nashville Office of Art + Culture. 

Help Support TAA by purchasing a Tennessee Specialty License Plate. A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of Tennessee Specialty Plates goes directly to the Tennessee Arts Commission, which in turn, provides grants to the Tennessee Arts Academy. Click here to learn more about the Specialty License Plate program. Buy one today!