Partners in the Arts

Partners in the Arts, sponsored by the Arts Council of Richmond, is an arts-in-education program involving public school districts and independent schools in the Richmond region as well as local artists and arts organizations.

This summer, Partners in the Arts is sponsoring the Eleventh Annual Summer Institute in cooperation with the University of Richmond School of Continuing Studies. K-12 teachers and administrators from the counties of Chesterfield, Cumberland, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Powhatan and the City of Richmond, as well as independent schools, are eligible to participate. Each teacher “partners” with an arts specialist or other classroom teacher from their school. Multiple teams from one school are encouraged.

The Summer Institute will take place at the University of
Richmond June 26-30, 2006. Classes will be held from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. everyday, with a break for lunch. A detailed schedule will be distributed to each participant prior to the first day.

Read more about this summer's institute on the Partners in the Arts Web page.

Participants will:

• Earn three hours of credit (graduate or undergraduate) in five days;
• Receive a $375 grant towards the $750 tuition;
• Have a unique learning experience to share with your colleagues (each school team must include two or more participants); and
• Produce an educational plan for integrating the arts into the curriculum that will include specific lesson plans.

Goals
The goal of the Summer Institute is to create a core group of K-12 teacher scholars in the Richmond metro area who know how to apply the arts to teach the core curriculum. Curriculum requirements (such as SOLs) will be addressed during the Institute.

Objectives
Participants will:

1. Understand the basic pedagogical philosophy behind an interdisciplinary approach to teaching the curriculum;
2. Gain an appreciation and understanding of aesthetic education and how it influences the K-12 curriculum;
3. Learn how to view the visual, performing and literary arts in a way that instills confidence in assessing the arts;
4. Understand the artistic process through the eyes of an artist; and
5. Identify the arts resources in the Richmond region, including museums, artists and arts organizations, available to educators.

Format
Faculty from the University of Richmond, educators and artists from the local community will direct teachers through a “guided discovery” of the arts and demonstrate how to incorporate the arts into the traditional K-12 curriculum (e.g., math, science, language arts, history, etc.). A typical day will involve a combination of lectures and workshops, hands-on activities, field trips to arts resources, and time for lesson plan development.

Application Process
Public school teachers must contact their Arts Specialist (listed in the right sidebar) no later than March 13, 2006. Independent school teachers should contact Cheryl Genovese at the University of Richmond School of Continuing Studies by March 13.

Upon registration, the student will indicate the type of credit desired, undergraduate (Humanities) or graduate (Master of Liberal Arts) credit.

To receive undergraduate credit the student must complete all of the requirements of the Summer Institute, including a unit plan.

To receive graduate credit, the student must present a 20-25 page paper on a topic approved by the MLA Coordinator in addition to a unit plan. The paper must be submitted to the Coordinator no later than July 21, 2006.

Tuition for the 3 credit hour course will be $750. Teachers from Partners in the Arts’ participating schools will receive a grant of $375 to apply towards tuition, making the total cost to teachers just $375.