Journal for Learning through the Arts

Transforming Teaching through Arts IntegrationAI Implementation Results: Middle School Reform through Effective Arts Integration Professional Development In four years, Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) increased sixth and seventh grade student achievement on the Maryland State Assessment (MSA) by 20% at Bates Middle School, a low performing school that had been targeted for restructuring by the state. This improvement positively correlates with the implementation of the arts integration Supporting Arts Integrated Learning for Student Success (SAILSS) model funded through the Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) grant. This model, offered to teachers across all content areas, incorporates extensive professional development opportunities including: an intensive weeklong workshop for teachers with artists followed by a two-week teaching lab with students; participation in an cohort to achieve an arts integration post-baccalaureate certificate,; and extensive trainings, conferences and workshops at local, regional, and national schools, museums, arts institutes, and higher education facilities.  Qualitative and quantitative data collected by AACPS was assessed through a quasi-experimental design from the treatment and comparison schools utilizing the following instrumentation: state and local standardized testing, School-level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ), Arts Integration: Classroom Observations for Middle Schools (AICOM), arts integration logs and parent, student, and teacher surveys. Through this study we found that in addition to increasing student achievement on statewide assessments, implementing this arts integration model positively correlates with a 77% decline in discipline referrals, and overall positive change in school climate based on teacher, staff, student, and parent perception.