Tuesday, December 23, 2014

A Year in Review


2014 brought exciting growth in our network of Louisiana A+ Schools, as well as a new partnership with the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. This year, Louisiana A+ Schools:


Added 3 new schools to our LAA+ network

Our network of LAA+ Schools has expanded to 9 schools across the state. We are so proud of the tremendous work all of our schools are doing to engage their students and transform their classrooms through arts integration. Click here to learn more about our Member Schools.



Welcomed new arts integration experts


We are happy to announce that our network LAA+ Fellows has expanded to include 50 arts integration experts from all over Louisiana. Their commitment to arts integration and passion for training other educators is invaluable to our program. Click here to learn more about our LAA+ Fellows.



Trained 500 educators at the Summer Institute


Professional development is an essential part of LAA+ Schools. In July, all 500+ teachers in our 9 schools gathered at University of Louisiana at Lafayette for a week of specialized training in arts integration. Each day of the Summer Institute featured engaging workshops to provide teachers with the tools and resources necessary to implement the Eight A+ Essentials into their curriculum. Click here to take a look inside the 2014 LAA+ Summer Institute.



Became Program Director for Turnaround Arts: Louisiana


This year, the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities selected the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts to be the program director of the new Turnaround Arts: Louisiana initiative. Using the research-based principles of LAA+, GRFA is working with three Turnaround A+ Schools to boost academic achievement and motivate student learning through arts integration. As part of this program, the three schools have been "adopted" by celebrity artists to draw attention to their transformations. Our Turnaround Artists for Louisiana are Alfre Woodard, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, and Irvin Mayfield. Click here to see photos of our Turnaround Artists visiting their adopted schools.



Impacted over 3,500 students in Louisiana


Our real success this year has been the number Louisiana students we have been able impact through arts integration. Each day, the lives of the 3,500+ students in our nine LAA+ Schools are enriched by arts education in the classroom. We can't wait to celebrate their successes in 2015!