Seattle Public School teachers as dancers

The Creative Advantage, Seattle Public Schools’ Visual & Performing Arts and Physical Education (P.E.) Program, and the Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) are partnering on the Dance and Quality Physical Education Professional Development Project! Through this arts integration program, P.E. teachers are trained to teach dance units for grades K-2 in alignment with the Quality Physical Education Curriculum. Meeting state standards in P.E. and dance, they focus on creative movement concepts, choreography tools, dance vocabulary, and collaboration. The training includes a two-day dance institute at PNB and classroom mentorship.

I need to say this is one of the best Professional Developments I have done. I teach this unit every fall to K-2. It helps them to move safely and be creative. You don’t need to be a dancer to teach it, and the kids really like it.” – Dan Richards, Health & Fitness Teacher, Rainier View Elementary 

P.E. teachers participating in this program can teach and lead lessons for years to come. To date, PNB has trained a total of 18 P.E. specialists in 15 schools, impacting over 2,500 K-2 students. The long-term plan is to train additional teachers and build the curriculum up to grade 5, ensuring sequential learning in dance for all Seattle Public School elementary students.

This project is made possible through a grant from the Laird Norton Family Foundation. The Creative Advantage is our city-wide initiative to establish equitable access to arts education for every student in Seattle Public Schools. It is a partnership between Seattle Public Schools, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, the Seattle Foundation, and community arts organizations.  

The Dance in P.E. program is particularly exciting because it leverages the existing skills and expertise of Seattle Public School P.E. specialists, extending the benefits and positive impact of quality dance education to more students and ensuring that the art form of dance is represented in all elementary schools.” – Shannon Barnes, Director of Community Education, Pacific Northwest Ballet

Check out this video of the physical education teachers in action at PNB, created by young artists at GZ Radio: