Don't students already receive arts instruction during the school day?
How does arts education impact the community?
Can Arts for Learning programs truly support student achievement?
Can art really influence education?
Can the arts really impact my child's future?
Why integrate the arts into education?
Does Arts for Learning offer classes like piano, drawing, or acting?
Can I get A4L programs at my child's school?
How can I become an Arts for Learning artist?
Arts for Learning provides training and resources for teachers on how to use the arts to support student achievement and works with local actors, directors, dancers, choreographers, visual artists, musicians, writers, storytellers, and cultural institutions to provide arts experiences that expand student learning within the classroom and make learning fun! We are dedicated to supporting Miami's teachers in creative learning practices and strengthening classroom instruction through the arts.
Who does A4L serve?
Arts for Learning serves classroom and art teachers, early childhood educators, artists, and children throughout Miami-Dade County. We do this by partnering with Miami-Dade schools, pre-schools, after-school programs, summer camps and community cultural organizations.
In 2009-10, A4L will work with:
- 100 Teachers
- 100 Artists and Cultural Organizations
- 58 After-School and Summer Camp Sites
- 60 Preschool and School Programs
- 5 Community Festivals & Events
TO REACH MORE THAN 10,000 CHILDREN AND YOUTH!
Don't students already receive arts instruction during the school day?
Yes, they do! Miami-Dade County is fortunate to have art teachers in our schools. Arts for Learning does not replace the teachers currently providing arts education in schools, but rather supports collaboration between the arts and classroom teachers to ensure students receive enough resources to make an impact on social and academic achievement. Arts for Learning programs guarantee arts education for all children and teach life and communication skills, support literacy and problem solving skills, foster self-discovery, build self esteem and improve cultural awareness.
How does arts integration impact the community?
The use of community cultural resources improves cultural awareness in Arts for Learning participants. Studies of 25,000 students showed that student involvement in the arts is linked to higher academic performance, increased standardized test scores, more community service and lower dropout rates. All of these factors decrease the incidents of truancy and crime and increase cultural pride. Performance events involve the entire community and create a bridge between the arts and families. These cognitive and developmental benefits are reaped by students regardless of their socioeconomic status.
Can Arts for Learning programs truly support student achievement? (Why integrate the arts into education?)
Yes! Research, in recent years, clearly demonstrates the critical role the arts plays in education, through the remarkable relationships between learning, knowing, and the arts. Arts integration is a strategy within the reach of most schools, districts, and communities. In these schools, children are engaged, happy, and learning. In particular, arts-integrated education has been shown to:
- improve student problem solving and communications skills;
- address the needs of all students including ESL, gifted, exceptional and different learners;
- improve student behavior, attendance and achievement;
- provide an alternative method to assess student success;
- increase community involvement in the schools; and
- improve teacher job satisfaction.
Over 90% of teachers participating in Arts for Learning's programs reported improved student engagement.
Can art really influence learning?
Yes! The arts reach students who are not otherwise being reached. Studies show that the arts provide a reason, and sometimes the only reason, for uninterested students to engage with school and learning. The arts connect these students to a community of learners, focused on personal growth and discovery. For students distanced from the traditional language and logical-mathematical styles of learning, the arts act as a bridge to education. The arts increase overall student success in school. Recent studies have shown that high arts participation improves math and reading scores more for low economic students than it does for high-economic students. Schools in poor areas that implement arts integrated programs show substantially increased achievement within a couple years. In fact, enhanced achievement in the arts is unparalleled by other activities such as sports or community service.
Can the arts really impact my child's future?
Absolutely! The arts foster skills important for the workplace. According to a U.S. Labor Department's report (Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills) skills that arts education promotes have been shown to be critically important in the workplace. These skills include creative thinking, problem solving, responsibility, sociability and self-esteem. When students create, they constantly generate ideas and translate them into reality. The arts teach learners to know themselves as capable citizens in a democratic society - observing, creating, reflecting, making choices, and taking responsibility for actions in the world.
Why Miami-Dade County?
Miami-Dade County has the 4th largest school district in the nation with more than 318 schools, 19,200 teachers and 370,000 students. The 2000 census indicates that one third of our children live below the poverty line and, for two-thirds of the student population, English is a second or third language. Keeping students motivated, especially in low-performing schools, is a challenge and dropout rates are high. Participating in arts programs helps to motivate students and keep them interested in the learning process. It makes learning fun!
Does Arts for Learning offer classes like piano, violin, drawing, or acting?
Arts for Learning programs are only offered through partnerships with Miami-Dade County schools, pre-schools, recreational facilities, and city parks. Arts for Learning does not directly provide or organize private, discipline specific instruction in the arts.
Can I get A4L programs in my child's school?
YES! We suggest you start by talking with your school's principal and teachers and recommending A4L programming be placed in their school. Please contact us and we can guide you on how to become a supporter of arts-integrated education. Only together can we succeed--meaning, the parents, the educators, and the administrators must all be involved in the process.
How can I become an Arts for Learning artist?
Arts for Learning accepts resumes year round. Interviews, auditions, and background checks are required. Professional visual and performing artists interested in working with children and youth through Arts for Learning's programs should fax or email their resume to:
Teaching Artist Program
Fax: (305) 576-1193
Email: betsy@a4lmiami.org
How can I volunteer?
Volunteers make our dreams become a reality. Year after year, day after day, volunteers are very much a part of our everyday life. In order to provide the highest quality services possible, we depend on the commitment of dedicated volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering for Arts for Learning, please send an email to christine@a4lmiami.org