The Power of Collaboration in the Classroom

Collaboration is one of the A+ Essentials that makes LAA+ unique among education programs. Classroom teachers and arts specialists are trained to design and teach arts-integrated lessons to help students make meaningful cross-curricular connections. As certified teachers who are trained to teach music, dance, visual art, or theatre, arts specialists often work in isolation in schools, rarely interacting with classroom teachers.

LAA+ Schools are different. In our network, collaboration is a key essential for success, and monthly planning time between classroom teachers and arts specialists is required. Collaboration not only supports cross-curricular arts integration but also school transformation.

Tiffany Jeansonne (left) and Melanie Alexander (right) collaborate to present a special lesson plan on math and music.

Rollins Place Elementary in Zachary, LA, began their journey as an LAA+ School in 2015. Led by Principal Jennifer Marangos, Rollins Place serves 1st and 2nd grades with almost 1,000 students and close to 45 teachers. Five Rollins Place teachers have also been invited to serve as LAA+ Fellows, a cohort of 63 master educators who provide training to the 18 LAA+ Schools.

Two Fellows, Melanie Alexander (music specialist) and Tiffany Jeansonne (2nd grade math teacher) recently designed and co-taught a math and music-integrated lesson.

Alexander and Jeansonne frequently meet to discuss activities that integrate the arts into the math curriculum. They decided that creating pan pipes using measurement skills learned in math and knowledge of pitch in music fit perfectly.

In music class with Alexander, the 2nd graders learned about higher and lower pitches through experimentation with xylophones. They knew that longer bars on a xylophone made lower pitches and shorter bars made higher pitches. In math class with Jeansonne, the students completed a unit on measurement in centimeters and practiced how to use a ruler to measure different objects.

In this collaborative activity, the students relied upon their musical and measurement knowledge to create a set of pan pipes from drinking straws. They measured and cut the straws to specific lengths to create a working instrument that played six different pitches. They then used color-coded music sheets to perform a few well-known songs. The colors of the notes on the page matched the colors of the straws.

Through this project, student demonstrated knowledge of pitch and measurement, as well as math and music skills. 

The teachers benefit from these collaborative activities, as they strengthen math content knowledge for Alexander and music knowledge for Jeansonne. As LAA+ Fellows, they continue to add to the bank of activities that can be shared with educators receiving professional development through LAA+ Schools.

About the Teachers

Melanie Alexander has taught music for twelve years in the Zachary Community School District. She is a graduate of Louisiana State University, receiving her Bachelor of Music Education degree in 2002 and her Master of Music in 2006. She is also National Board certified in Early/Middle Childhood Music.

Tiffany Jeansonne is a second grade math, science, and social studies teacher at Rollins Place Elementary in Zachary, LA. This is her 16th year teaching. She received her National Board Certification in 2007, serves as a LAA+ Fellow, and received the honor of Rollins Place Elementary's Teacher of the Year for this school year.

Help Us Nurture Creativity in Every Learner

Louisiana A+ Schools is a diverse, statewide network of schools dedicated to infusing the arts into every classroom and nurturing creativity in every student. In 2017, our mission was able to impact:

18 schools

700 teachers

Over 10,000 students

We believe that:

• Students love to learn in an arts-rich environment where their imaginations can grow and the world is a place of endless possibilities.

• Teachers thrive in schools where creativity is encouraged and their students are inspired.

• Communities become vibrant places when their schools place importance on the arts.

Meet Rosemary Grimm: LAA+ Fellow and Louisiana Elementary Teacher of the Year

As the 2018 Louisiana Elementary Teacher of the Year, Rosemary Grimm represents thousands of educators across the state of Louisiana. As an LAA+ Fellow and fifth grade English Language Arts teacher at Princeton Elementary School in Bossier Parish, she knows firsthand the impact arts integration has on student learning.

Grimm has been an educator in Louisiana since 2004 and has experience teaching third through sixth grade. A native of Spartanburg, South Carolina, she graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education. From there, Grimm earned a M.Ed. in Educational Technology Leadership from Lamar University.

Rosemary Grimm, LAA+ Fellow and Louisiana Elementary Teacher of the Year

She began her career as an educator for Claiborne Parish Schools at Homer Elementary, which at the time did not have music, art, or theater programs. In 2014, Homer Elementary was selected to be part of Louisiana A+ Schools, and the entire faculty received an intensive week-long professional development in arts integration and concept-based learning. LAA+ advocates school wide transformation by training teachers to integrate visual art, dance, theater, and music into the school's curriculum. Grimm saw a transformation in her class and says, "While some teachers did not embrace this change in teaching, I was hooked. I immediately began integrating the arts into my lessons and saw a direct impact of student engagement and learning."

During the school year, Grimm integrated visual and performing arts with the Louisiana Department of Education's ELA Guidebook curriculum. She notes, "Drama became an active way for my students to create and demonstrate understanding. My students were able to make connections between visual art and written text, and abstract concepts became clear."

In 2015, Grimm was given the opportunity to teach at Princeton Elementary School in Bossier Parish Schools. She continued to utilize arts integrated strategies and lessons in her classroom. After just one year in Bossier Parish, she was named the district's Teacher of the Year.

She advanced through the state level Teacher of the Year process, which includes months of preparation, multiple essays, interviews, data analysis of students learning targets, as well as recommendations from peers. Most importantly, she submitted a lesson plan with a corresponding instructional video where evaluators saw Grimm and her students in action, integrating reading and essay writing with visual and performing arts.

Grimm (center) with her daughter and husband at the 2017 Annual Cecil J. Picard Educator Awards Gala in Baton Rouge.

At the 2017 Annual Cecil J. Picard Educator Excellence Awards Gala, Rosemary Grimm was named 2018 Louisiana Elementary Teacher of the Year. She shares, "Being Elementary Teacher of the Year means that I now have a larger platform to advocate for my students and other educators. It also affords me the opportunity to promote issues that are near and dear to my heart."

Since becoming Louisiana's Elementary Teacher, she has spoken on the importance of arts integration at several events including the Aioli Dinner Supper Clubfundraising benefit, several Bossier Parish School Board meetings, and to prospective educators at LSUS. Her 5th grade class even received a virtual visit from First Lady of Louisiana, Donna Edwards.

Rosemary Grimm with LAA+ Chairman of the Board Jacques Rodrigue at the Aioli Dinner Supper Club event in Shreveport, LA. She spoke to guests about her experiences an educator and how she uses the arts to enhance her classroom.

Grimm reflects, "It's been an amazing year, and I continue to be humbled by the experience, but for me, this will always be about the work. A teacher's influence can span generations, and I strongly believe that when instruction is designed in a way that not only improves learning but also improves creativity and self-confidence, that students are impacted in a way that lasts a lifetime."

LAA+ Board of Directors Has First Meeting in Shreveport

In 2017, after three successful years of implementation, Louisiana A+ Schools has become its own 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. While still supported by the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA), LAA+ is pleased to have created a statewide Board of Directors to provide leadership as we move forward with our mission and vision.

(From left to right, standing) Hollis Milton, Board Member and Superintendent of West Feliciana Parish Schools; Wayne Fernandez, Development Director for GRFA; Patrick Widhalm, Board Member and Head of School at Benjamin Franklin High School; Jacques Rodrigue, Board Chairman and GRFA Executive Director; Bethany France, Director of LAA+ Schools; Henry Price, Board Member and President of Shreveport Regional Arts Council; Christine Dunaway, Development Associate for GRFA; Judge Ulysses Gene Thibodeaux, Board Member and President of Lake Charles Charter Academy Foundation.

(From left to right, seated) Rachel Locke, Professional Development Coordinator for LAA+ Schools; Dr. Sonia Fields Gutierrez, Board Member and Chief Academic Officer for St. Helena Arts & Technology Academy; Mary Harris, Board Member and Principal of South Highlands Magnet Elementary.

Click here to see a complete list of the Board of Directors and read their biographies.

Our newly formed Board of Directors met for the first time last week in Shreveport, Louisiana, at LAA+ Lab School South Highlands Magnet Elementary. They had a special tour of this outstanding LAA+ School and observed arts integration lesson plans in action. 

LAA+ Board of Directors visits classrooms at South Highlands Magnet Elementary to see how the arts of infused into every subject.

Apply Now to Join LAA+ Schools in 2018

Want to Join Our Arts Integrated Network? Apply Now for 2018/2019!

WHY APPLY?
LAA+ is the first whole school arts-integrated reform initiative of its kind to enter Louisiana. There are currently eighteen (18) LAA+ Schools statewide. The LAA+ 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.

"After five years, Louisiana A+ Schools has proven itself as a leader in transforming schools through our professional development training in arts integration. We are excited to welcome new schools into our growing network."

- Jacques Rodrigue, Chairman of the Board for Louisiana A+ Schools

Any Louisiana school (public, private, charter, urban, suburban, rural, PreK through 12) can now begin the application process to be a member of the LAA+ School network by visiting www.aplusla.org and completing the Letter of Interest Form.


"We are thrilled to begin work with a new cadre of schools across the state. The schools in our network have seen growth in academic success and in student engagement."

- Bethany France, Director, Louisiana A+ Schools

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. Arts integration is achieved through continuous practitioner-led professional development, statewide support networks for teachers and administrators, and school partnerships with parents, community cultural resources, media and universities. There are currently over 150 A+ Schools across the country in North Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

The deadline to submit a Letter of Interest is December 1, 2017.

LEARN MORE.

Now Accepting Applications to Join the LAA+ Network

The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts' Louisiana A+ Schools (LAA+) program is accepting applications for the 2017/2018 academic year. LAA+ is a network that 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 in ways that nurture the whole student. At the center of this program is the use of the arts in every subject, in every classroom. There are currently 18 schools in the LAA+ network.

Louisiana A+ Schools values creativity as 

essential to the learning process. 

The deadline to submit a Letter of Interest is February 6, 2017.

LEARN MORE.

Louisiana A+ Schools Application Procedure:

Step 1: For more information, all interested schools can visit www.aplusla.org or email LAA+ Director Bethany France at Bethany@georgerodriguefoundation.org.

Step 2: Begin your investigation into what LAA+ Schools can do for your school by completing a LETTER OF INTEREST FORM. This indicates your school's commitment to attend an informational Pre-Appliction meeting. The Letter of Interest Form is due February 6, 2017.

Step 3: Send of team of teachers (5-7), along with your principal, to the Pre-Application meeting to find out more about what membership in the network means. These meetings are half-day events and will be scheduled by geographical interest.

Step 4: Share information, survey your staff, and secure a minimum of 85% faculty support. Pre-Application meetings are designed to prepare you for this step.

Step 5: Complete and submit the application by March 6, 2017. Any Louisiana school (public, private, charter, urban, suburban, rural, PreK-12) can now apply to be a member of the LAA+ Schools network.

Summer Institutes in Lake Charles and Lafayette

Teachers at Lake Charles Charter Academy participated in dancing, drawing, theater, and printmaking workshops to learn how to infuse the arts into all subjects.

Louisiana A+ Schools (LAA+) held two concurrent Summer Institutes last week in Lafayette and Lake Charles, providing professional development in arts integration to over 170 teachers.

For Lake Charles Charter Academy's faculty, this was their first LAA+ Summer Institute. During a full week of professional development, they were introduced to the A+ Essentials and attended sessions that gave them the skills and resources to use the arts in the classroom.

See KPLCTV's coverage of the 2016 Lake Charles Summer Institute.

Teachers from J. Wallace James Elementary and Ridge Elementary increased their knowledge of arts integration methods at the Lafayette LAA+ Summer Institute.

Over 100 teachers from J. Wallace James Elementary and Ridge Elementary participated in a three-day Summer Institute in Lafayette. Both schools joined the LAA+ network in 2015 and are successfully using the arts in every subject in every classroom.


LAA+ Director Bethany France notes, "These schools have demonstrated their commitment to innovative learning and the importance of implementing the arts into every aspect of the classroom." She continues, "We've studied the benefits, and we're excited to finally see them come to life through these schools."

Read The Daily Advertiser's article and watch KATC's coverage of the Lafayette Summer Institute.