Nov 28, 2012 Northwest Arkansas (November 20, 2012) – Walton Arts Center, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the University of Arkansas Center for Children and Youth are proud to announce the ARTeacher Fellowship, a pilot program that provides training for ten secondary teachers to explore arts-integration methods to meet Common Core State Standards. The Fellowship is designed to further the practice of arts-integration in area high schools. The Fellowship program began by seeking Social Studies and English teachers in their third through seventh teaching year in Northwest Arkansas high schools (grades 9-12), who either had experience with arts-integrated teaching or an interest in learning more about arts education. After the Fellows were chosen, they participated in a three-day institute in June 2012 at Walton Arts Center and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The institute launched a year-long program of study to be implemented in six parts throughout the 2012-2013 school year. The Fellowship calendar includes five workshops led by national arts education and integration specialists. In addition to participating in exemplary professional development, the Fellows are given opportunities to interact with other outstanding teachers in the area and receive support for their students to participate in both Walton Arts Center and Crystal Bridges education programs. Creating instructional materials tied to the Common Core State Standards through arts integration is among the responsibilities of the Fellows during the program. “What we know about education is that the teacher is the most important in-school factor in student achievement. The ARTeacher Fellowship brings together some of the brightest, most promising teachers in the area to focus on arts integration,” says Dr. Christian Goering. Anne Kraybill, school programs manager at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, concurs: “Working with these teachers and seeing how willing and eager they are to engage their students in different ways is inspirational. [Arts integration] can feel uncomfortable and foreign to many, but this group is embracing new ways of teaching and developing a more reflective practice.” Laura Goodwin, Walton Arts Center’s vice president for learning & engagement, notes, “work the Fellows do this year, learning how to effectively include the arts in core curriculum including English and Social Studies, will serve them throughout their teaching careers. They will develop content, methods and innovative lessons that will be relevant for years.” Upcoming events for ARTeacher Fellows: November 28, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art: Rika Burnham, co-author of “Teaching in the Art Museum” will lead a session Teaching with Works of Art using the dialogical approach.* January 10, Walton Arts Center: Rosalind Flynn, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts artist affiliate, will lead Dramatizing the Content: Curriculum based Readers Theater.* *These workshops are not available to the general public 2012-13 ARTeacher Fellows: Brandon S Flammang Bryant Davis Elizabeth Spicer John O’Berski Joshua Vest Katy Buehrer Katy Moore Kenya I. Windel Scott Lampkin Wayne Levering English & Social Studies Social Studies English English English English English English Social Studies Social Studies Springdale A.L.E. Bentonville High School Rogers High School Lincoln High School Bentonville High School Hackett High School Har-Ber High School Deer High School Fayetteville High School Heritage High School About the University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, is the flagship institution of the University of Arkansas System and the premier research institution in the state. It was founded in 1871 as Arkansas’ land-grant institution, with the three-fold mission of teaching, research and public service. The U of A offers 213 baccalaureate, master’s, doctoral, professional and specialist degree programs, and has an enrollment of over 24,500 students. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching categorizes the University of Arkansas in the highest possible classification of American colleges and universities. About Walton Arts Center Walton Arts Center is Arkansas’ premier center for the performing arts and entertainment. Each year more than 150,000 people from Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma and beyond attend over 350 public events at Walton Arts Center, including performances, rehearsals, community gatherings, receptions, graduations and more. Approximately 50,000 students and teachers from 30 school districts participate annually in arts learning programs at Walton Arts Center, and over 300 volunteers donate more than 15,000 hours of time each year to its operations. Walton Arts Center presents entertainers and artists from around the world including Broadway musicals, renowned dance companies, international artists, up-and-coming jazz musicians and more. As a non-profit organization, Walton Arts Center enjoys the generous support of public sector funding, corporate sponsorship and private donors, allowing audience members to pay on average only 50% of the cost of programs offered. To learn more about Walton Arts Center, visit www.waltonartscenter.org. # # #
