Happy Arts in Education Week and Hear from an A+ Student

In July of 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution #275 designating the second week of September as National Arts in Education Week. The resolution expressed congressional support for arts education:

Whereas arts education, comprising a rich array of disciplines including dance, music, theatre, media arts, literature, design, and visual arts, is a core academic subject and an essential element of a complete and balanced education for all students.

In honor of this week, we wanted to share with you a great article from a student (pictured below) at Riverside Academy, our A+ School in Reserve, Louisiana.  We think she really sums up exactly what this week is all about!

Sarah Peytavin submitted her article to the Times-Picayune in New Orleans and you can see it online here.  However, we loved it so much that we have reproduced it below (pictured throughout, teachers from Riverside receiving professional development training at our Summer Institute):

Riverside Academy in Reserve recently became one of seven Louisiana A+ schools. The program is designed to bring art to all classrooms through dance, music, theater and other art mediums . . .

On the first day of school, the teachers delightfully cheered, danced, and sang about the changes that A+ would bring to Riverside. 

One simply has to enter the building to see the difference. The front hallway is decorated with expressions and pictures that students feel represent Riverside. 

In high school, Angie Roussel’s math classes are learning to graph the volume of songs rather than learning through a traditional lecture. Mary Graci’s AP government and politics class has been making life-size models of the Founding Fathers while her AP human geography class has been studying cartography by making maps of the school and to their homes. Graci’s classes have also been putting on history-related silent plays. 

Elementary and preschool students also are enjoying the new art curriculum. Kendra Glider preschool class served as authors and illustrators for the class ABC book and learned about sentences by singing the Sentence Buddy song. The kindergarteners recently went on a Blue Dog hunt around the school. The students in Molly Duhe’s kindergarten class are frequently seen creating letters with their bodies. The third graders can be found creating arrays on the floor using tiles and creating their very own maps of the United States. 

Elementary students have also been reading the short story, “Why is the Blue Dog Blue?” to serve as inspiration for their very own blue dog drawings and stories. 

The new curriculum is being welcomed by many open minded students and teachers at Riverside Academy. 

Thank you so much Sarah for the great early report!  Students like you are the reason why we do all that we can to keep the arts in school.  Happy arts in education week!

On-Site Professional Development Begins

One of the three legs of the A+ Stool is of course professional development training for teachers.  LAA+ hosts large scale multiple-day off-site trainings for entire faculties of all our schools.

Plus, we visit each of our member schools during the course of the year to conduct customized training in arts-integration and A+ methods based upon the actual requests of what a school thinks it needs.

This week, we began our first trainings at Riverside Academy in Reserve and at Epiphany Day School in New Iberia, Louisiana.

Our Fellows gave our schools further instruction on curriculum mapping in order to more thoroughly integrate the arts into actual lesson plans during the upcoming school year.

We are so excited to be working with ALL of our Member Schools and look forward to seeing them transform as they begin to implement the Eight A+ Essentials.

(pictured throughout, photos taken by our participants and Fellows and posted to Twitter @AplusLA or using the hashtag #aplusla)

Summer Institute Media Coverage

Selected news coverage from the first Louisiana A+ Schools Summer Institute (2013), which was held in June on the campus of LSU. Interviews with Jean Hendrickson, Executive Director, Oklahoma A+ Schools and Jacques Rodrigue, Executive Director of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts. Louisiana A+ Schools is a program of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts. Credit WVLA and WBRZ Baton Rouge.

New Deputy Director

George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts Welcomes Kim Leavitt as Deputy Director of Louisiana A+ Schools

Leavitt to support arts-integrated network statewide and nationally as LAA+ liaison

New Orleans, La. (July 15, 2013) — The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA) is excited to announce and welcome Kim Leavitt as the Deputy Director of Louisiana A+(LAA+) Schools. In this role, Leavitt provides support to a statewide school network and liaisons nationally with other A+ states.

“I cannot overemphasize the importance of having Kim on our team,” says Jacques Rodrigue, Executive Director of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts. “When experts in government and education heard that Kim was joining us here in Louisiana, the buzz nationally surrounding our state increased considerably. Our peers nationwide will be paying close attention to the A+ movement in arts and education now that Kim is on board.”

Prior to joining the Louisiana A+ staff, Leavitt was Director of Education and Community Engagement at The Phoenix Symphony. In that capacity, she launched Mind Over Music, an unprecedented STE[+a]M initiative in which Symphony musicians team-teach alongside classroom teachers to support STEM learning.

Leavitt is also the creator and designer of two nationally known arts integration initiatives, Value Plus Schools and Arts3600, programs launched during her tenure as Director of Arts Education for the Tennessee Arts Commission. Both programs received Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination Grants from the U.S. Department of Education and were cited by the National Governor’s Association as models for states seeking education reform through arts integration.

“I am thrilled to be working with Kim Leavitt,” says Bethany France, Director of LAA+ Schools. “She has been an expert in arts-integration nationwide for over 10 years and I consider her one of my mentors. She has hosted national conferences for thousands of attendees, and I could not be more thrilled to have her working with us in Louisiana.”

“To be part of the revolution that is coming to Louisiana education through the A+ Schools program is an honor,” says Leavitt. “I have followed A+ for many years as it grew in other states, and am thrilled to work with the George Rodrigue Foundation. A+ Schools caters to the way that all students want to learn, and I’m excited to have the chance to be a part of this education movement.”

Leavitt is the former Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Arts Education Advisory Group and has taught workshops and served as a panelist for the Kennedy Center, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Arts Education Partnership. Before joining the Tennessee Arts Commission, Kim was Managing Director of Theatre Education and Community Outreach for The Renaissance Center in Dickson, TN, a $32 million fine arts facility. While there, she worked as a professional actress, director and playwright for the Renaissance Repertory Company and Gaslight Dinner Theatre and designed and taught theatre courses for children and adults.

About A+ Schools

Started in North Carolina in 1995, A + Schools is a research-based whole school network with a mission of nurturing creativity in every learner through an arts-integrated school network. The network provides teachers with the essentials to think more creatively about how students can apply learning to the real world, and how they can present curricula to students in ways they learn best. Arts integration is achieved through continuous practitioner-led professional development, statewide support networks for teachers and administrators, and partnerships with parents, community resources, media and universities. LAA+ is available to any Louisiana school (public, private charter, birth through 12) through an application process. LAA+ will add 5-10 schools every year.

Louisiana A+ Schools is a program of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts. GRFA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization advocating the importance of the arts in the development of our youth through a variety of art educational programs.

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Summer Institute Recap

Wow! Our first annual Louisiana A+ Schools Summer Institute could not have gone better! (click here to see our blog post about what a Summer Institute is).

It was the first professional development training for teachers of its size, structure and duration ever in Louisiana!

Twenty-five (25) facilitators from Oklahoma A+ joined fifteen (15) facilitators from Louisiana to train nearly 100% of 7 school faculties (200+ teachers) for an entire week on arts-integration, A+ methods and our Eight Essentials in order to impact over 3,000 Louisiana students!

Member schools are every type (urban, rural, suburban, pre K - 12, public, private, charter) and are in Shreveport, Monroe, New Iberia, Baton Rouge, Reserve and New Orleans.

The institute was held in partnership with LSU on LSU's campus during the week of June 24th.

Participants live tweeted to @AplusLA using the hashtag #AplusLA and their photos are displayed throughout this blog entry. 

At the end of every day, we asked participants to share with us their reactions to that day's training.  Overwhelmingly, nearly all teachers and principals gave us positive reactions!  We of course don't have room here to display them all.  However, here are some of our favorites:

I think….this has been the best workshop I have attended in 17 years! (11th Chemistry II AP teacher)

I discovered today that….common core, core knowledge, and Louisiana A+ 8 Essentials really work perfectly together. (Kindergarten teacher)

If I could change one thing I would….change the amount of time at this workshop.  Would love to have more time with you. (1st grade teacher)

If I could change one thing I would….not change a thing about today.  It was beautiful. (Principal)

I understand better how….LAA+ evolved and why it is so important to integrate art across the curriculum. (Art teacher)

I understand better how….to set up my students to succeed in the most creative ways while building their self esteem. (Kindergarten teacher)

I rediscovered….the joy of teaching and seeing the learning process in action. (5th grade teacher)

I feel….much better about the A+ school model because it is not just another thing I have to incorporate in my class but rather an important piece of a puzzle that was missing. (Kindergarten teacher)

I will be able to use….everything I’ve learned. (6th grade English language arts teacher)

I was surprised that….there are so many ideas I could actually put into a math class. (7th grade math teacher)

I am proud of the way….I am able to visualize how to integrate both art and music with my English classes. (11th grade English teacher)

It would be helpful if….I knew all of this when I was first started teaching 25 years ago. (Kindergarten teacher)

I discovered today that….art education is an excellent mechanism for helping students move past their perceived limitations to explore new possibilities.  (Principal)

I was surprised that….the process of creating and sharing art is the same as the Scientific Method and sharing results. (5th grade science teacher)

I discovered today that….there is no longer a reason to say,  “It is time for math.  Now it is time for spelling.”  EVERYTHING needs to be taught together – integration throughout the curriculum. (1st grade teacher)

GRFA Hosts Louisiana A+ School's First Annual Five-Day Summer Institute

Over 200 teachers from seven Louisiana schools learn arts-integration teaching method

(Pictures throughout, photos from the first two days of our training by our participants using the @AplusLA Twitter hashtag "#aplusla")

WHAT:

The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA) is excited to host the first annual Louisiana A+ Schools (LAA+) Summer Institute for the 2013/2014 school year. Under the direction of Oklahoma A+ Schools, LAA+ will give the first seven LAA+ Schools accepted into the network staff professional development in arts-integration June 24-28 in Baton Rouge at the LSU School of Music & Dramatic Arts. 

“I am so excited to see that these schools in Louisiana are willing to embrace the arts as a vehicle for transformation,” says Bethany France, Director of LAA+ Schools, “because Louisiana is so well known for arts and culture.”

Started in North Carolina in 1995, A + Schools is a research-based whole school network with a mission of nurturing creativity in every learner through an arts-integrated school network.  The network provides teachers with the essentials to think more creatively about how students can apply learning to the real world, and how they can present curricula to students

in ways they learn best. Arts integration is achieved through continuous practitioner-led professional development, statewide support networks for teachers and administrators, and partnerships with parents, community resources, media and universities.  LAA+ is available to any Louisiana school (public, private charter, birth through 12) through an application process.  LAA+ will add 5-10 schools every year.  

WHO:

20 facilitators from Louisiana A+ Schools (LAA+), 35 facilitators from Oklahoma A+ Schools (OKA+) and over 200 teachers representing the following seven schools from across Louisiana:

1.  South Highlands Elementary Magnet, Shreveport, Public, Pre-K - 8
2.  Grace Episcopal School, Monroe, Private, Pre-K - 8
3.  Epiphany Day School, New Iberia, Private, PreK3 - 5
4.  The Dufrocq School, Baton Rouge, Public, PreK3 - 5
5.  Riverside Academy, Reserve, Private, PreK3 - 12
6.  Homer A. Plessy Community School, New Orleans, Charter, K - 2
7.  Martin Behrman Academy of Creative Arts and Sciences, New Orleans, Charter – Pre-K – 8

WHY: Extensive university research in A+ Schools reveals dramatic improvements including: 

o Elevated student achievement
o Better student and teacher attendance
o Decreased discipline problems
o Stronger parental and community involvement 
o A more creative and enjoyable educational environment

"We believe LAA+, the first whole-school, arts-integrated reform initiative of its kind for our state, has the potential to influence the way that all Louisiana students are taught." says Jacques Rodrigue, Executive Director of GRFA.

“I have seen what the arts have done to transform the seventy schools in our Oklahoma network,” says Jean Hendrickson, Director of OKA+ Schools, “and I am so excited to be here in Louisiana to share our success with the members of LAA+”

In addition to North Carolina, A + Schools has been successfully implemented in Oklahoma and Arkansas and currently has over 120 schools in the National A+ Schools Consortium Network. The program’s success in other states has prompted GRFA to team up with Oklahoma A+ Schools to bring A+ methods to Louisiana.  

For more information visit www.aplusla.org or contact the LAA+ Baton Rouge office located in the Shaw Center for the Arts at 225-388-5521 or info@aplus.org.  

Louisiana A+ Schools is a program of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts.  GRFA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization advocating the importance of the arts in the development of our youth through a variety of art educational programs.

Creative Teachers Inspire and Empower Creative Students, a Teacher's Perspective

Please enjoy this post from guest blogger Philip Razem - 7th grade teacher at Martin Behrman Charter School

Philip Razem in his classroom

It’s quite fashionable for leaders to say that there is no “silver bullet” to fix America’s education pitfalls, and they might be right, but I believe the best medicine we possess as educators in the most innovative country in the world is our understanding that creative teachers inspire and empower creative students.  In other words, the best lessons are not learned from memorizing facts from a textbook, but facilitated by teachers and students using Art with a capital “A”.  I know my classroom will benefit from joining Louisiana’s A+ network in the same way a bowl of rich bread pudding will benefit from a drizzle of warm, sweet rum sauce: on its own, its an engaging environment rich in student engagement and “a-ha” moments, but with that extra kick – arts integration – it will be the most popular place for anyone with a sweet tooth, or in this case, with an inquisitive mind yearning to learn in new, exciting ways.  I look forward to surrounding myself with educators who love teaching with an art form and displaying their work for the whole school, city, country, and world to see.  I have seen how arts integration works in the middle school classroom, and hope to further my knowledge and application of it for future students. 

Mr. Razem's students try foods listed in a
novel read in class, Theodore Taylor's The Cay

I think the most exciting A+ Essential is “Climate” because when a student feels excited about attending a specific class due to how it is taught, his or her positive outlook will spill over onto every other aspect of his or her life.  Not only will students be engaged, but teachers’ attitudes will improve and the school en masse will function more efficiently and consistently. After arts integration is incorporated in every classroom, students’ behavior will improve and lessons will be described more as “fun” than the dreaded “boring.”

Debate team victory at a
Tulane University Debate Competition.

I have been teaching 7^th grade English Language Arts and Reading at Martin Behrman Charter School for the past 3 years.  Before that, I was a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in the People’s Republic of China where I taught English to Chinese university students in Beibei, Chongqing.  This experience – learning a new language, integrating into a foreign culture, and comparing educational systems - was so impactful that when I returned to America, I promised myself to always prioritize the two elements of education essential in creating 21^st century world citizens: creativity and critical thinking.  So, for the last three years, I’ve tried to teach meaningful, inspiring lessons that force students to get up out of their chairs and literally act out otherwise mundane material in a meaningful way, all while the audience provides constructive criticism.  My love of using technology in the classroom inspired me to start a class blog – razembehrmancharter.blogspot.com – where I’ve documented my students’ 
achievements using arts integration.  This blog’s materials represent 
exactly why I love teaching.  

President Bill Clinton Mentions A+ Schools on C-SPAN

Former President Bill Clinton and Bill Gates were interviewed by Tamron Hall about debt, taxes, health care costs, immigration, and education. 

"Shaping America's Future" Major Trends, New Ideas, and Big Decisions" was part of the Peterson Foundation "2013 Fiscal Summit: Facing the Future."

Recorded on May 7, 2013.

Becoming Part of Louisiana A+ Schools, a Teacher's Perspective

Please enjoy this post by our guest blogger Natalie Sonnier

Epiphany Day School

Hi! My name is Natalie Sonnier and I am very enthusiastic about being a part of the Louisiana A+ Schools network.  I have been in the teaching profession for a year and a half. I started teaching a month after graduation. I graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a Bachelor of Science: Early Childhood Education and a certification in Middle School Mathematics.  I taught Middle School Mathematics from January 2012 to May 2012 at a Lafayette Parish Public School. I was accepted into Graduate School and started my studies in Educational Technology Leadership in July 2012. The past school year, 2012-2013, I have been a Kindergarten teacher assistant at Episcopal School of Acadiana while working on my graduate coursework. I will begin teaching at Epiphany Day School in August 2013. I will be teaching second grade, my favorite grade as a child, and finishing up my Master’s Degree in the fall. I will be graduating on December 7^th, 2013 in Educational Technology Leadership from the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Second Grade Teacher Natalie Sonnier

I truly love my profession and couldn't be more blessed to work with children every day. My calling to teach started when I was about five years old. I sat my sister down in our pretend classroom and taught her the skills I was learning in Kindergarten.  I knew from a very young age that teaching was my passion and thank my past teachers for making a difference in my life. I hope to make a lasting impression on my students and instill the importance of education. I love creating fun and meaningful lessons, teaching life skills that are necessary, building relationships with parents and other faculty, and being a vital part of a child’s life. 

I am thrilled that Epiphany Day School has been chosen to participate in Louisiana A+ Schools. The 8 Essentials seem to be an excellent resource and foundation for the school. I am anticipating that my future classroom, planning, relationships with others will touch on all eight components.  I think the 8 Essentials that A+ Schools values are truly important to the school setting. I hope that the second grade curriculum and lessons I create will foster experiential learning, are adaptive to each learner, value multiple intelligences, and integrate art components.  Also, in regards to planning and relationships I hope the collaboration between teachers is effective and the climate is positive and fun for both students and teachers. I really think the foundation for A+ Schools gives the school resources and a foundation for a school that can make a huge difference in the community.

George Rodrigue Foundation Executive Director Jacques Rodrigue,
Epiphany Day School Principal Kathleen O'Shaughnessy and
Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne

The primary Essential that I would like to focus on is the arts. I am a very creative person in regards to creating fun and meaningful lessons and activities for the students, but I tend to lack confidence when creating visual arts. I believe that a teacher should be an example and it is hard for me to create art work that I am comfortable with. I know children are very creative, but I have struggled with this creative aspect my whole life. Also, I think curriculum is another Essential that I would like to focus on this upcoming school year. I have taught at the middle school level, but the first time teaching an elementary grade. I plan to focus on the curriculum and create a solid foundation for the second grade level. The lessons that I create from the curriculum will have solid objectives, expectations, evaluations of content, and focus on differentiation for all learners in the classroom.  I believe that throughout my first year teaching at Epiphany Day School I can grow in these two essential component areas and make a difference to the students, the school community, and to my profession. Hopefully, at the end of the 2013-2014 school year I can be an “A+ teacher.”  

Louisiana A+ Schools Members Announced

Any school (public, private, charter, urban, suburban, rural, PreK3 through 12) can be a member of the Louisiana A+ School network.   LAA+ chose the following seven schools to join our network in 2013 after an intense application process.  If you want your school join our network, we encourage you to learn more!  We will be adding 5 - 10 schools to the network every year.

1.  South Highlands Elementary Magnet - Shreveport - Public - PreK - 8

2.  Grace Episcopal School - Monroe - Private - PreK - 8
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3.  Epiphany Day School - New Iberia - Private - PreK3 - 5
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4.  The Dufrocq School - Baton Rouge - Public - PreK3 - 5
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5.  Riverside Academy - Reserve - Private - PreK3 - 12
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6.  Homer A. Plessy Community School - New Orleans - Charter - K - 2
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7.  Martin Behrman Academy of Creative Arts and Sciences - New Orleans - Charter - PreK - 8