Reading Beyond Words: Seeing to Understand through Visual Literacy

A National Summer Teacher Conference

Imagine stepping into a classroom where students are captivated not only by words but also by works of art. A place where critical thinking, connection, and creativity thrive as students “read” art just as they read books. Visual literacy unlocks this world, transforming how we teach and learn in K-12 classrooms. 

Set against the backdrop of  America’s Art Museum, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, along with national arts integration experts from Focus 5, Inc, this professional learning experience is grounded in neuroscience and Crystal Bridges’ innovative learning framework, which unites art, architecture, nature, and wellness to empower educators to transform instruction and deepen how students learn, connect, and engage.

Participants select a focused learning track, aligned to K-12 standards, to deepen their practice and explore visual literacy through one of the following lenses:

• Literacy (ELA, Reading Specialists, Literacy Coaches, World Language teachers)
• Social Studies (History/Civics/Social Studies teachers)
• STEM (Science/Math/Technology teachers)
• Studio Art (Visual Art Teachers)
• Wellness (Neuroscience & Mindfulness) (Any subject, school counselors) 

Join educators from across the country and be among the first to experience Crystal Bridges’ newly expanded museum, featuring additional galleries and dedicated education learning spaces. 

Registration is limited—reserve your place today.

Day 1 | 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Foundations of Visual Literacy
Explore what art is, practice observing in the galleries, and learn strategies for helping students “read” and interpret art.

Day 2 | 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Deepening Conversations & Curriculum Connections

Develop tools to facilitate meaningful discussions about art and collaborate with peers to create lesson ideas tied to gallery experiences.

Day 3 | 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Art in Action & Classroom Integration
Participate in hands-on art-making sessions, independent work time, and practical discussions on using museum resources and original art in your teaching.

Focus 5, Inc. provides high-quality, professional learning opportunities and program consulting focused on aligning arts integration, best instructional practices, and current thinking in the field of arts and education. We collaborate and consult with teachers, teaching artists, schools, school districts, arts organizations, arts commissions, arts councils, and museums around the USA and internationally. We are in classrooms on a daily basis to keep our work refined, relevant, and effective in the ever-growing and evolving field of arts integration and education.

We seek to be a national leader in the field of arts integration and educational consulting with a team of personable experts dedicated to high-quality education for all young people.

Our consulting staff includes National Board Certified teachers, professional artists, teaching artists, arts integration specialists, a technology specialist, and a reading specialist.

Melanie Rick

Melanie is a National Board Certified Teacher, certified reading specialist, and co-owner and Senior Consultant for Focus 5, Inc. She designs and leads workshops, in-depth courses, and summer institutes focused on aligning arts integration, best instructional practices, and current research in the fields of arts and education. Ms. Rick works in art museums, schools, and art centers across the country, helping teachers develop their students’ visual literacy and critical thinking skills through the integration of visual art and poetry throughout the curriculum.

Melanie is currently a National Teaching Artist, course leader and instructional arts coach for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Art’s Changing Education Through the Arts (CETA) program in Washington, D.C. She also served as the CETA program consultant for five years, working with teaching artists to develop and evaluate workshops presented at the Kennedy Center.

Melanie holds an MA in Literacy Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Tech and a BA in Elementary and Special Education from Clemson University. She has over 25 years of experience integrating the arts with general education, special education, and English Language Learners. She has been a classroom teacher in 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th grades as well as an arts integration specialist in a Title I arts magnet school.

Sean Layne

Sean is the founder of and Senior Consultant for Focus 5, Inc., and author of the book Acting Right: Building a Cooperative, Collaborative, Creative Classroom Community Through Drama. He holds a BFA degree in Acting and studied acting in London, England. Sean has worked in the field of arts integration for 35 years. He leads residencies for students K-8, presents workshops for teachers, and has designed training seminars for teaching artists nationwide for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He is a National Teaching Artist for the Kennedy Center as well as an arts coach for their Changing Education Through the Arts program.

For over a decade, Sean acted, directed, and designed sets for the Interact Story Theatre, a professional theater company that has served more than 4,000 schools, museums, libraries, and festivals around the world. He began working with the Wolf Trap Institute Early Learning Through the Arts program in 1989. As a Master Artist, he represented Wolf Trap across the country and internationally, and he designed and piloted new residency and workshop models.

Jamin Carter

Jamin is an educator, activist, artist, and minister who calls Memphis, TN his home. He holds a BFA in sculpture and painting and a MAT in visual art education. He has a decade and a half of experience in education. As a public school teacher he has worked in several diverse,Title One classrooms ranging from elementary art to high school studio art and AP art history.

As a national Kennedy Center teaching artist and arts integration consultant with Focus 5, Jamin leads visual art and drama-based workshops in schools, museums, and arts centers across the country and collaborates with other consultants on new and existing workshops.  As an artist, Jamin works in a variety of mediums, such as acrylics, mix media and sculpture. Working out of his studio in Memphis, he participates in exhibitions, facilitates panel discussions, and occasionally curates shows. 

Jamin spends his life with his wife Becky and three children-Benjamin, Malea and Xavier, in the midtown area of the city where they garden, take walks, host neighborhood events, and are usually building or fixing something.

Paige Whelan

Paige Whelan is a problem solver. She grew up watching her father tinker with half-built computers in the garage. He often pulled her away from rollerskating to help him with any task that required extra hands. They found new ways to accomplish goals when the first (or second) idea failed.

Paige brought that problem-solving experience to her twenty year career in education. She taught preschool in Boston and then fifth grade at a Title I Changing Education Through the Arts (CETA) school in Arlington, Virginia. Paige was named Teacher of the Year and became the school’s technology and arts integration specialist, designing and launching an arts-integrated technology program for the students and mentoring their teachers. She created a similar program for a middle school in her home state of California. Since then, she moved to Boise and travels as a teaching artist with the occasional return to classroom teaching to learn about current educational challenges firsthand.

Paige earned her BA in Psychology from UC Davis and a Master’s in Educational Technology Leadership from Lamar University. She is a National Board Certified Teacher who is also endorsed on the John F. Kennedy Center’s National Roster of Teaching Artists. Beyond education, Paige troubleshoots family life with her husband and two kids, occasionally making time for yoga or mediocre tap dancing.

Garrett Brown

Garrett is a national teaching artist who specializes in cartooning, illustration, and sequential art (comic books). He earned a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Missouri Kansas City, where he resides with his family. He earned a master’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Missouri St. Louis.

While Garrett has over a decade of highly qualified experience as an Art Specialist, it is his years as a classroom teacher that give him an appreciation and perspective for designing projects that both students and teachers find engaging and worthwhile.

Kay Thomas

Kay is a visual artist who received an M.F.A. in ceramics from Arizona State University and a B.F.A. degree in ceramics from Texas A&M University. A national teaching artist with over thirty years’ experience, Kay has worked with grades Pre-K -university presenting integrated arts experiences that guide students in the creation of sculptures, drawings, and paintings that represent classroom objectives across the curriculum. In addition, she is a designer and presenter of a variety of art workshops for teachers.

Currently, Thomas is a Teaching Artist for the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council and a National Teaching Artist with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She continues to create her humorous ceramic sculptures that celebrate and satirize in a humorous way America’s fascination with pets, politicians, and celebrities.

Carrie Chinners

Carrie holds a master’s degree in Arts Integration from Lesley University and a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from The College of Charleston, South Carolina. With over 20 years of experience teaching students in both elementary and middle schools, Carrie’s passion for education and arts integration has been shared with hundreds of her students, fellow teachers, and district leaders since 2001. Locally, she has served as Teacher of the Year in 2009 and provides arts integration professional development workshops for teachers in her school and across the district.

As an Arts Integration Specialist at an arts magnet school, Carrie has planned, modeled, co-taught, and coached teachers in arts integration strategies in classrooms of Headstart through 5th grades. Nationwide, Carrie has a strong background for whole-school implementation and classroom teaching experience.