I wanted to share with you EMP Museum’s experience at Garfield HS as a Creative Advantage provider the past two years. This story is a testimony to all of your (Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture) diligent years of work/advocacy for arts education resulting in The Creative Advantage, creating real impact for students and teachers. – Bonnie Showers, Curator, Education + Interpretive Services, Experience Music Project
EMP Museum, as a Creative Advantage provider, has had an exciting first two years at Garfield HS following our August 2014 Garfield HS All-Staff Arts in STEM Professional Development training held at EMP and led by five of our professional teaching artists, funded by The Creative Advantage.
The result of that first Arts in STEM PD has led to excitement at Garfield about teaching through the arts in all subject areas. As the first year of staff participants reported: that 2014 all-staff training was the springboard, supporting development of a shared language and enthusiasm among teaching staff and administration. They experienced multiple learning styles effectively addressed through the arts, and the enthusiastic creative learning that emerged.
In the last two years, supported by The Creative Advantage funding at Garfield, EMP has provided 22 five to 10-day arts-integrated residencies in multiple topics from geometry/paper engineering and sculpture, voice over for engineering students, graphic novel and visual narrative for language arts, wire sculpture for biology students, Theatre Skills and Performance for English language learners (ELL), video-making for Japanese language classes, to RHINO software and 3-D printing for ceramics students. Over 600 students and 10 teaching and library staff have participated in these arts integrated projects.
Teachers noted in residency evaluations higher student engagement, enthusiasm, success and increase in confidence. (We have evaluations from all participating staff and teaching artists for these projects, and a set of 2015-16 student-centered pre and post evaluations focused on tracking 21st Century skills, arts skills, and subject area target goals. 100% of participating teachers reported that their arts integrated objectives were met or significantly exceeded in all projects)
EMP has now been requested to provide a follow up Garfield HS ALL-staff PD focused on STEM in Arts on August 30, 2016.
This training is 100% supported by Mr. Howard principal at Garfield HS. We are delighted, as this request represents an evolution in thought: learning skills to teach through the arts is a priority.
I am so appreciative of Bonnie Hungate-Hawk, Garfield’s tireless arts team lead, with Janet Woodward, a dynamo of an arts librarian, and the team of participating teachers: 2014-15: Heather Snookal, Ian Sample, Nicolas Fell, Gwen Johnston; 2015-16: Alan Kahn, Rachel Eells, Mary Hopkins, Thomas Townsend, Janet Woodward, Michele Flett.
It has been a rich two years and we are looking forward in 2016-17 to supporting Garfield’s growth as an arts integrated rich learning environment, as one of our Outreach Partner Schools.
I would like to thank each of you for all your advocacy and support for arts learning opportunities for these students. When I saw the smiles of success and confidence on the ELL students faces last night at their Family Night performance, it was clear: The Creative Advantage has made it possible to reach these students, and these arts opportunities are making all the difference in their lives.
Best, Bonnie
Photos from ELL Family Night, theatre residencies in Mary Hopkins classes taught by Karen Harp Reed.
