Teachers

For over 30 years Arts Horizons has recognized the importance of involving teachers in all aspects of arts learning. Our unique, participatory workshops for classroom and arts teachers help develop new strategies to stimulate learning in and through the arts while achieving state learning standards and addressing classroom objectives.

Find out about professional development workshops that will help renew and invigorate learning in all areas of study, or immerse yourself in the arts at our summer Artist/Teacher Institute (aTi).

We believe that successful arts-in-education programs - assemblies, residencies, and professional development workshops - result from close collaboration between teachers and artists.  Arts Horizons works with teachers and administrators to create programs that integrate the arts into the existing school curriculum, building on themes and current lesson plans while providing active, creative learning opportunities to challenge teachers and students alike.  Our artists use the state learning standards as the basis for their creative lessons and promote both arts-for-arts sake and many interdisciplinary links with their work the classroom.

Tips For Teachers on Bringing an Arts Program to your School

For Guidelines on a school's role in planning an effective artist-in-residence program, please click HERE.

For Ideas on how to fit a Professional Development workshop into your school schedule, please click HERE.

For Guidelines on booking an Assembly Program, please click HERE.

# 1 PARTNERSHIP: THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL RESIDENCY

A residency is a partnership between your teachers and our artists. We are committed to providing top quality programs for your school. We urge you to read the following guidelines to acquaint you with the school’s role in the partnership.

  • Planning is an important component of the residency process. An Arts Horizons representative and/or the artist will discuss the goals, objectives, process and evaluation of the residency in advance. We strongly recommend that both administrators and participating teachers be present at this meeting.
  • To facilitate communication, a liaison should be assigned from your school who will be readily available to communicate with the artists and the Arts Horizons program coordinator on a consistent basis, before and throughout the length of the residency. He or she should be familiar with the school's calendar (e.g. closings, class trips, testing dates) to avoid scheduling problems, and will be asked to provide grade levels, class size and, if applicable, special education classifications.
  • Students are more likely to be engaged when their teacher is actively involved in the program, so it is important that teachers are chosen to participate who are enthusiastic and willing to contribute to the partnership. Full cooperation and participation is essential for the residency to reach its full potential.
  • Classes should be limited to a maximum of 30 students per visiting artist and should not be combined.
  • As mandated by Boards of Education, a licensed teacher must be present in the classroom with the teaching artist at all times.

# 2 SCHEDULING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTO A BUSY SCHOOL DAY

Many schools have difficulty scheduling time when faculty members can meet for Professional Development. You may like to try some of these innovative ideas to free up teachers’ time.

  • Meet during common prep period, perhaps continuing over lunch
  • Use delayed openings or early dismissals
  • Create a ‘pool’ of colleagues or ‘buddy system’ to cover each others’ classes during prep period
  • Have administrators cover classes to release teachers (they may enjoy being back in the classroom!)
  • Bank time:
    - arrange for students to attend school several extra minutes on four days a week and to be released early on the fifth day
    - Later one day a week in exchange for leaving another day a week at the same time as the students
    - leave when the students leave every day for two weeks and then come in the next week for Professional Development
  • Special teachers develop half day programs for students to free up classroom teachers (or vice versa)
  • Organize community service opportunities for students to create block of time
  • Schedule some weekly faculty meetings to discuss business, others for professional development. Encourage communications through e-mail, voice mail and memos to cut down announcements and updates.

(Source: Adapted from North Central Regional Laboratory, listed in Reflective Practice to Improve Schools)