The Partners in Education program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is designed to assist arts and cultural organizations throughout the nation to develop and/or expand educational partnerships with their local school systems. The purpose of the partnerships is the establishment or expansion of professional development programs in the arts for all teachers.

The program, established in 1991, is based on the concept that education teachers is an essential component of any effort designed to increase the artistic literacy of young people. The Kennedy Center’s experience with professional development programs for teachers is the basis for this national initiative. Partnership teams consist of an arts organization and an administrator of the cooperating school system. The team participates in an institute that provides models and strategies for professional development programs in the arts for all teachers, follow-up consultation, and annual meetings to assist teams in their continued development. The Lied Center, Omaha Nation School District, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Education and Human Sciences partner to provide professional development in the performing arts to teachers and staff in the Omaha Nation School District. Artsreach, a professional development program for at-risk schools in Nebraska is supported by the Kennedy Center. The Lied Center partners with Nebraskans for the Arts, the Nebraska Arts Council, and the Nebraska Department of Education.