PARTNERSHIP GRANT PROGRAM IMPACT SUMMARY

IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING

Partnerships funded by the Center have reached tens of thousands of students throughout the five boroughs of New York; provided multiple, diverse learning experiences within each of the arts disciplines; and supported learning in academic areas, such as social studies and English language arts. Additionally, the arts provide students with a powerful opportunity for self-expression, collaboration, and the development of specific skills such as dance, choreography, script writing, acting, mural painting, and music composition. Some students benefit from learning to perform for the first time, developing abilities, and becoming positive risk-takers through expressing themselves before the school community.

IMPACT ON TEACHERS

Classroom teachers learn to incorporate arts activities into regular instruction, discover new techniques for managing classrooms and reaching students, and explore connections to academic curricula through such activities as writing, research, storytelling, and museum visits. In effective partnerships, they also collaborate and co-plan with artists, other teachers, and a wide variety of community and arts resources. Teachers benefit from a wide range of learning opportunities designed to improve instruction and develop their capacity to use the arts in the classroom. They adopt new classroom management techniques taught by teaching artists and integrate arts lessons that introduce new ways to evaluate student progress beyond test scores. They also find new ways to reach students and develop new insights into how students learn. Arts experiences help teachers deepen their understanding of student abilities and potential.

IMPACT ON SCHOOLS

The arts break down barriers within schools. Upper-grade teachers work with lower-grade teachers; teachers from different disciplines collaborate on curricula; arts teachers work with classroom teachers; and principals participate in professional development with staff. In the most successful partnerships, performances, sharing of artwork, and collaborative planning and instruction help build a strong sense of community. The integration of the arts throughout the school contributes to the development of schools as “learning communities.” Connections made to neighborhood communities and the strong support of school principals are important ingredients for successful partnerships. Many principals provide logistical and administrative support, and many fully participate in partnership activities. Principals motivate teachers to view the arts as critical to a complete education by providing adequate space and time for adequate planning and curriculum and for professional development. Principals often seek additional funds from private and public sources to sustain their arts programs.

IMPACT ON CULTURAL AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

Cultural and community organizations develop deeper, more sustained relationships with school communities by helping to develop comprehensive arts education programs. The grants require that partners collaboratively develop grant programs and customize their services for the needs of the school community. This collaborative process has positively impacted the ways in which cultural and community organizations develop curricula, train and evaluate teaching artists, and partner with teachers and school administrators. Organizations have also strengthened their commitment to education reform issues, such as learning standards and student assessments, some for the first time. Artists and cultural organizations also develop new ways to support instructional areas linked to state tests.