Description: arts education IDEAS provides professional development in arts-infused literacy to school districts and after school programs through the Total Literacy approach developed by Dr. Sue Snyder and teachers across the country. Total Literacy is a flexible approach to literacy in and through the arts that can be implemented in a variety of settings. The research-based strategies provide a springboard to exceptional teaching and learning, strong arts programs, and building a literate and compassionate learning community. In our process-oriented environment we encounter less discipline issues, and more deep learning.

Over the past 10 years, in-depth implementations have been conducted in the Connecticut HOT Schools; Michigan City, IN Area Schools; Dearborn, MI Public Schools; Hartford, CT Public Schools; Bridgeport, CT Public Schools; and Lawrence Township, NJ Public Schools.

Partnerships are created with local for profit and not-for-profit organizations, assessment teams, universities, and educational groups whenever possible.

Funding has been through the school districts themselves, grants, not-for-profit organizations, and state and federal departments of education.

Each implementation is unique to the district’s needs, and may start with teachers of struggling learners, music teachers, a small core of interested teachers, or a grade level team with arts teachers. In one case, the district mission statement was changed to include communication and higher order thinking, and this then drove decision-making about professional development and funding. A common core of information is shared with teacher teams to provide the rationale, theory, teacher capacity (confidence, skills and understandings), strategies, and eventual ability to adapt Total Literacy models to specific site needs. Capacity to sustain the initiative is built through developing leadership cadres during years 3-5 of implementation.

Benefits and Findings

When Total Literacy is implemented with integrity, benefits are measured qualitatively and quantitatively. Because Total Literacy is responsive to individual sites, each implementation has unique goals, configurations, and assessments. Increased academic achievement is one important measure, but not the only critical indicator of success. Just as literacy is about communication rather than just reading the words on a page, success is measured in the capacity of students to learn for a lifetime, and communicate across the languages of music, visual art, movement/dance, words, and ultimately drama. In general, through Total Literacy implementation:

• Teacher and student enthusiasm increases;

• Teacher and student attendance increases;

• Classrooms become more interactive, with more student hands-on learning;

• Higher-order thinking is more frequently utilized;

• Status of the arts and quality of arts curricula increases;

• Creativity increases;

• Student voice and work are celebrated;

• Community involvement increases;

• Student achievement increases. (Send for specific findings: sue@aeideas.com)

Key Lessons Learned:

• There is no one “right way” to begin an implementation, but the more stakeholders are on board, the less chance of surprises.

• There is a predictable sequence to implementations that allows us to anticipate problems and be proactive in many circumstances and appropriate at different stages.

• The need for demonstrable evidence of success is necessary in regular intervals. Assessment and evaluation must be in place early, and be continuous. What is measured is what is considered important, and there are ways to quantify qualitative data.

• Communication is essential. Listen, listen, listen. Share successes liberally, and mediate issues privately. All stakeholders must be kept informed and included in decision-making.

• The strongest teacher “buy-in strategy” is demonstration/modeling in their classrooms.

• Empowering local participants requires program flexibility, so you must be clear what remains constant, and what can change without losing program integrity.

• In arts-infused literacy, there are inherent tensions between differing needs and understandings, often creating pressure to decrease emphasis on arts skills and understandings, and jump immediately from teaching IN the arts to teaching THROUGH the arts. If this pressure is not diminished, or is acquiesced to, the very essence of what generates success will be lost. It is the arts themselves that build thinking capacity.

• It is easy to gain acceptance and implementations in schools that already have strong curricula, strong arts, and sufficient funding. It is very difficult to implement in urban and low-income districts for many reasons. Urban teachers are accustomed to, and expect, new initiatives coming and going every year, if not more frequently.

• Children want to learn and succeed, and most teachers are capable of making good decisions for their students. Honoring this principle leads to success.

• This work is joyful, hard, powerful, deep, intense, and fulfilling.

“Ninety percent of the success of any program is directly attributable to the quality of the implementation.” - Bruce Wilson, Program Evaluator

During 2006, we plan to work with Expeditionary Learning to deepen our capacity to effect whole school change, while providing them depth in the area of arts-infused literacy and learning. We also plan to hold our first leadership conference in the late spring, as we search for the most effective ways to help principals and other decision makers provide effective support for teachers and children.

Contact arts education IDEAS, 5 Lancaster Drive, Norwalk, CT 06850 Phone: 203/229-0411 FAX: 203/847-0613