Program trains artists how to work in schools

~ The Teaching Artist Project combines teaching art with other subjects.

When Deborah Fisher left her job at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, she told the assistant commissioner that the department has missed its boat.

"You can't spend seven hours a day doing only reading and math. China did that, and now they have people who can't create," said Fisher, now the executive director of the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education.

Grants are available to bring artists into classrooms, but the money has sat virtually unused for years.

"People say there is no time for us," said Fisher, attributing it to increasingly stringent testing standards requiring proficiency in core subjects.

Fisher is spearheading a venture called the Teaching Artist Project, a re-energized push to train artists how to work in schools and to encourage schools to participate.

Gone are the days where an artist from a community might do a short presentation to help students "appreciate" art. Teachers now are looking for artists that can present lessons that teach new vocabulary, integrate science or reading concepts, and assess whether students have mastered skills presented.

Artists gathered last month and again this week to learn how this could be accomplished. They will be listed in an online directory that schools can access to locate artists, musicians, dancers, poets or actors, and the artists will meet with teachers in the spring.

"We're here for art for art's sake. But are people knocking on the door for grants? My theory is that we need to make it relevant to what teachers need to do," Fisher said.

Jackson artist Kelly Hughes plans to use her illustrations of caterpillars, currently on display in nature centers throughout the state, as a springboard for combining art and creativity with science concepts.

"Students respond favorably to hands-on experiences and invitations to engage in the art process," she said.

Teaching Artist Project participants are required to log 20 hours in the classroom, but that can be spread throughout a semester, Hughes said. Artists must outline how learning standards would be met through the program, provide an assessment, and develop two or three classroom activities teachers could use before or after an artist visit.

For the younger grades, Hughes plans to incorporate dance, story and music into her lessons. Upper elementary students will learn about the life cycles of organisms while studying illustration, and older students will focus on drawing techniques.

Marlene Rivero already re-enacts Harriet Tubman at community libraries, dressing in period-appropriate clothing and singing songs like "Wade in the Water" and "Steal Away," but she would like to expand her audience.

"I don't try to blame, I just tell the story. I let the songs and the story pull out their own emotions," Rivero said. "I hope to be a catalyst to increase students' desire to know more about the period."

Grant funds come from the National Endowment for the Arts, which directs money to the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education and the Missouri Arts Council. Previously, Fisher said, schools were required to provide a cash match for grants, possibly deterring some schools from applying. Now a teacher's time can be considered a match.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 123

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