Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership Arts Integration Demonstration Schools

Purpose: To develop a network of schools modeling the use of professional tools and practices that integrates creativity and critical reflection for deeper learning in all subjects.

In these schools, children are valued and instructional strategies are aimed at helping students understand that they have an essential contribution to make in their classrooms, communities, and the world they will grow into. Teachers become better able to address cultural differences and respond to the variety of learning styles in a classroom. Teachers learn how to consistently challenge students to stretch, explore and become the best thinkers, learners, and people they can be.

Demonstration schools are beacons for other schools, parents, and policy makers because they exhibit:

• Core professional practices that support ongoing improvement;

• The highest expectations for thinking, analyzing, learning and creating;

• The true capabilities of all children and teachers; and

• Leadership in modeling how we all have a role to play in ensuring that all schools create supportive, stimulating, creativity-based learning cultures for every child in every school, every day.

What Demonstration schools teach culturally responsive arts integration through the use of three foundational analytical thinking frames:

• Studio Habits of Mind • Teaching for Understanding• Making Learning Visible

How

Demonstration schools commit to a core set of practices and activities:

• Build leadership capacity to support professional learning communities through identifying three instructional leaders to earn certificates in the Arts Integration Specialist Program;

• Open their doors for observation and tours by other educators, parents and policy makers;

• Document their work to share with others electronically at conferences, on websites, etc;

• Host and/or attend bi-annual retreats with other demonstration schools to reflect, share, present new information and build a collegial, professional network;

• Design and present mini-courses at the Regional Summer Institute;

• Identify a representative to participate in the Regional Summer Institute Planning and Implementation Committee;

• Identify a representative to participate in the Demonstration School Planning and Implementation Committee; and

• Identify a representative to participate in the Assessment Planning and Implementation Committee.