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District celebrates 10 years of arts integration, plans a free national-level conference for teachers
Summary
Missoula schools held a work session highlighting a decade of arts integration, teacher-closeness initiatives and announced a free arts-integration conference in June with Kennedy Center teaching artists and a May 14 awards night for teacher leaders.
Missoula County Public Schools used a board work session to showcase a decade of arts integration districtwide and to announce a teacher-focused arts-integration conference and awards night.
Assistant Superintendent Vinny Jamana led the presentation with Spark Arts and district arts-integration staff, noting arts integration is one of the district’s five strategic pillars. Staff described a timeline of growth—starting formal programming around 2013, expanding elementary and middle-school arts experiences, adding district visual-art teachers, and developing a vetted residency directory for teaching artists.
Sienna Claiborne, executive director of Spark Arts, said the district will host a tuition-free arts-integration conference for educators in June; staff said funding will cover the usual $425 conference fee so the event is free to participating teachers. The conference will include nationally recognized teaching artists associated with the Kennedy Center; administrators said they expect capacity for several hundred educators and that a June 19 networking event is planned. Spark also will hold an Arts Integration Awards Night at the Missoula Art Museum on May 14 from 5 to 7 p.m. to honor teacher leaders.
Karen Bartels, the district arts-integration instructional coach, and other staff led trustees through interactive activities used in classrooms—continuous-line drawing and wire-sculpture exercises, artist statements and a gallery walk—to demonstrate how arts integration supports student engagement and multiple ways for students to demonstrate learning.
Presenters linked arts integration to the district graduate profile and to research on teacher clarity and student engagement. Trustees praised the programming and the professional-development approach; several trustees noted the sessions produced high teacher engagement and classroom joy.
Administrators said the district will continue scaling arts integration across the system and will return with details as the conference and follow-up professional development are finalized.
