< Markers
of Quality
COLLABORATION
Partnerships
with arts institutions such as museums, symphonies, and theatre or dance
companies, and with visiting or resident musicians, visual artists, dancers,
or actors, can bring unique opportunities for in-depth learning to both
teachers and students. About half of Washington schools responding to
the AERI survey said that they took advantage of such partnerships in
some way, most often by taking their students on occasional field trips
to arts events where students research the performance or exhibition
and learn audience skills.
A number of schools have found ways to deepen and extend these relationships, working with arts organizations or teaching artists to deliver coordinated curriculum through semester- or year-long partnerships. Over time, joint planning and hands-on training with working artists can help teachers to independently embed arts concepts in their ongoing instruction. Students can work with arts organizations in long-term study affiliations or with artists as apprentices.
Ideas for Practice
Sharing facilities for arts. A new state-of-the-art auditorium at Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley offers unique opportunities for the students to partner with local cultural institutions. In 2004, the Spokane Ballet mounted a joint production of Bram Stoker’s "Dracula" at the school, with students and the school’s drama instructor participating alongside the company’s ballet dancers. The Spokane Symphony has also come to the school to work with students and put on a joint performance. Because the school is conveniently located, Spokane performers often use it as a rehearsal space.
In-depth field trips. In Richland, the students at Lewis and Clark Elementary School take advantage of the local Academy of Children’s Theatre, which does backyard productions and offers a low-cost theatre class for children, in which 20 children put on a play once a year. In addition, three times a year the Academy provides the school with pre-theatre packets for their current performance. Prior to going to the theatre, the students read the book the show is based on and discuss it with their teacher.
Artists-in-residence. Many schools have engaged artists-in-residence to support teachers. At the Integrated Computer Arts and Technology magnet at Washington Middle School, Yakima, a resident artist trained the teachers on the use of arts-infused curriculum simultaneously while he worked with the students. He helped teachers develop a unit on polyhedrons, linking a visual arts dimension to the study of geometric shapes and linear perspective.