Appoint a Reflections Chair and committee to administer the program. Whether at the local, council, or district level, the Reflections Chair and committee must do the following:

1. Enlist support
The Reflections Program offers the opportunity to showcase the importance of the arts in education.

2. Encourage participation
The program can enhance a school’s arts program by giving students a sense of achievement and recognition.

3. Plan the budget
The following are some of the costs a program may incur:

• Prizes or certificates
• Lunches and gifts for judges
• Shrink-wrapping of visual art or photography entries

4. Create a timeline
Each state establishes deadlines for each level of judging. Local PTAs need to know all deadlines within their state. The Minnesota deadline is Febuary 7th, 2007.

5. Recruit judges and judge the entries
Three judges is usually an adequate number for a panel. Recruit volunteer judges with expertise and background in the arts such as local university professors, art museum educators, and non-host schoolteachers. Also consider retired teachers, librarians, private music teachers, local artists, and journalists.

6. Promote and publicize the program
Write press releases announcing the program’s kickoff, the judging results, and donations to the program. Send releases to local newspapers, radio, and TV stations. Alert the local paper and the community affairs department of local stations about the program.

7. Collect and exhibit the entries

• Find a place where students can submit their entries, such as a room at the participating school.
• Check to make sure that each entry is prepared correctly.
• Try to display the entries in a location where parents can view them after regular working hours.
• Establish a return policy.

8. Prepare entries for next level of judging

• Carefully pack selected entries, making them as immobile as possible. Newspaper is not recommended as a packing material because it flattens and crushes easily.
• Complete the Reflections Program participation form and forward it along with the selected entries to the next Reflections Program chair.

9. Provide recognition
Make sure that all participants are recognized, including those with entries advancing to another level. Consider a ceremony at a school assembly, an in-class presentation, or recognition at a PTA function. This encourages future participation.

10. Participate in the theme contest
Each year a theme is chosen from thousands of student theme submissions. Ask the state office for information about how to participate. Previous themes have included;

• “Love Is”
• “What a Family Means to Me”
• “I Have a Dream”
• “Exploring New Beginnings”