Foster mutual commitment and responsibility in collaborations between arts organizations and schools.
Commitment to arts education should be shared, deep-rooted and adequately resourced. Where resources come from will vary; in many communities, strategic partnerships between arts organizations and schools are central to the delivery of arts education.
Each partner brings a wealth of expertise, unique experiences and resources to bolster the quality and availability of arts education. Healthy partnerships require clear roles, responsibilities, expectations and timelines. Through clarity and shared commitment, arts education can be proactively integrated into planning, which will fortify, sustain and improve high-quality arts education over time.
Principle in practice
Sunset School students tour Coos Art Museum.
In Coos Bay, Coos Art Museum representatives worked with Sunset Middle School leaders and staff to develop programming that could be embedded in the school and implemented by classroom teachers.
The museum soon realized the importance of communicating its commitment to arts education for school staff and the school community. This made it easier for everyone else to understand their own roles in supporting arts education.
The principal at Sunset Middle School has been a strong champion of arts education and an essential member of the partnership. One way she demonstrated the school’s commitment was to require that all teachers identify a professional development goal relating to arts education for the 2018-2019 school year.
While initially arts activities were received positively by the school community, artists dropped into the school day rather than forming an integrated part of the community. Art educators realized a need for clearer communication about the project’s specific purpose and role within the school. Greater relationship-building, starting from a point of mutual understanding, supported embedding arts into the school environment.
—Arts organization administrator
