Bring the Arts to Your Rural School with Arts for Learning's Whole School Partnership

Are you a rural school district looking for new ways to bring the arts into your classrooms? Through support from the local funding cooperative Fund for the Arts, Arts for Learning WNY is making arts-integrated learning opportunities available to rural schools throughout Western New York.

Our Whole School Partnership Program connects classroom teachers with professional Teaching Artists to bring arts integration directly into the curriculum. Programming is most appropriate for students in grades 5-12 and is designed to support teachers in making meaningful connections between the arts and their existing curriculum.

How Does It Work?

Participating schools receive 4-8 session arts-integrated residency programs led by Arts for Learning Teaching Artists.

Each participating teacher will:

• Choose a curriculum topic they would like to explore through the arts.

• Select an arts discipline and Teaching Artist to work with.

• Collaborate with the Teaching Artist to develop a residency that supports their curriculum.

• Schedule the residency for a time that works best for their classroom during the school year.

The result is a hands-on learning experience that brings curriculum to life through the arts while giving students new ways to engage, create, and demonstrate their learning.

A Grant-Funded Opportunity

for Rural Schools

Teaching Artist Kristin Brant working with a student at Holland High School

Thanks to generous grant support, this program is completely grant-funded for a school's first 2-3 years of participation, making it an accessible way for rural schools to establish an arts-integrated learning partnership with Arts for Learning.

Whether you're looking to introduce arts integration for the first time or expand the ways your teachers are already using the arts in their classrooms, we'd love to talk with you!

Interested in learning more? Reach out to Allison Rabent, Director of Programs, at allison@artsforlearningwny.org to schedule a brief virtual or in-person presentation and learn more about bringing the Whole School Partnership Program to your school.