Vision
The Art is Education Collaborative envisions a public school system where every student will receive the highest quality education that includes continual immersion in a comprehensive arts-infused curriculum. This curriculum will address the full range of children’s learning styles and all aspects of human development which will prepare students to be productive citizens and leaders of the future.
History
In 2004, Cleveland became one of just eight sites across the country selected by The Ford Foundation to develop a model to improve urban, public education through arts-integrated programming. Grant recipient Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio convened the Art is Education Collaborative (formerly The Cleveland Integrated Arts Collaborative). This partnership of 30+ arts, cultural, philanthropic and educational institutions sought to design a community system that would provide high-quality integrated arts education for all children in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. It was out of this work that that the Art is Education initiative was created.
For Cleveland to be successful and compete, we need people who are innovative and resourceful, able to think critically, work collaboratively and visualize new possibilities. Learning through the arts helps train students to do just that. Through arts education, children are fully engaged and learn to be creative and imaginative. Every parent and teacher in Cleveland should demand arts education in our schools and embrace the arts at home.
Thomas Stevens, KeyCorp Vice Chairman and Chief Administrative Officer
Advocacy
For Learning... The Art is Education initiative is seeking to close the achievement gap by providing all students with experiences in the arts everyday.
For Success... The arts have been proven to raise academic achievement; provide positive activities that deter delinquency for at-risk youth and improve critical thinking.
For Communities... In communities that value the arts there is improved quality of life and an awareness and appreciation for other cultures. The arts build sustained connections and trust between schools and their communities.
Curriculum
Art is Education includes a research-based curriculum for third graders, written by classroom teachers and teaching artists. Each unit meets Ohio Content Standards for English Language Arts and the Fine Arts and is meant to build literacy skills through arts-integration.
Art is Education offers more than 200 programs for students in grades K-8. All programs are designed to engage students by integrating the arts with non-arts subjects in all disciplines.
Partners
The Art is Education Collaborative is made up of 30+ arts, cultural and educational organizations in the greater Cleveland area, all of which serve a number of programmatic, advisory, advocacy and administrative roles in the project.
