Tabereaux elected to Kennedy Center ed board
Charlotte B. Tabereaux
Charlotte B. Tabereaux, the education director of Mississippi State University's Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts in downtown Meridian, is a new member of the Kennedy Center Partners in Education Advisory Committee, a national board.
One of only seven people from across the country to serve on the committee, Tabereaux was elected by the members of the Partners in Education program teams from across the nation to serve a three-year term.
During her tenure, her duties will include facilitating annual meeting sessions and discussion groups; communicating with team members at the annual meeting and throughout the year; advising the Education Department on new professional development initiatives; advising the Partners in Education program on policies affecting the teams; and reading and responding to materials from the Kennedy Center.
"I am honored to be part of such a distinguished group. The networking and programs we'll have access to as a Kennedy Center partner will provide tremendous benefits for me in my role with the Riley Center and our partners -- the Meridian Public School District and the Lauderdale County School District," Tabereaux said.
"A primary focus of the center's educational component is to help area schools better integrate the arts as an effective tool to prepare wise, creative thinking individuals who are more engaged in school, perform better on tests and are more confident and capable leaders."
With more than 30 years of experience in education, Tabereaux has been a longtime advocate for the arts as a tool for learning.
In her eight years with Rankin County schools, she helped introduce and implement the use of the arts and experiential learning techniques. She co-authored a book, "Learning to Read through the Arts, K-2," in 2003. And, the "Arts Across the Curriculum" program she developed earned Rankin Country School District the 2004 Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts.
Tabereaux has also served as a field adviser for the Mississippi Arts Commission's Whole Schools Initiative. She received a doctorate in education administration from Mississippi State University in 2002. She taught English, drama and speech for 20 years; for 10 years she served as an administrator, in positions including principal, state department senior education specialist, director of curriculum, director of federal programs and arts supervisor.
In Tabereaux's role with the MSU Riley Center, she is responsible for introducing programs and training designed to help teachers incorporate the arts as a tool for learning in the classroom.
More than 15,000 students per year attend nationally touring theatrical performances that are tied to curriculum-based content. In addition to providing schools with study guides and other teacher resources supporting each performance, Tabereaux facilitates arts integration workshops each month for teachers. The education department is committed to deliver high quality performing arts programming while facilitating teacher training and workshops to help area schools incorporate the arts into the classroom.
The MSU Riley Center's affiliation with The Kennedy Center, the nation's premiere arts education leader, supports their commitment to promote the arts as a tool for learning. Together with Lauderdale County and Meridian Public Schools, the MSU Riley Center is a member of The Kennedy Center's Partnership in Arts Education Program. Through this partnership, the MSU Riley Center staff along with local public school teachers and administrators are participating in a multi-year initiative designed to strategically incorporate the arts in elementary and secondary schools.
