By Dan Nonte, University Relations
The A+ Schools Program, a reform that integrates the arts into all subjects, will hold its annual statewide conference and celebrate its 10th anniversary Aug. 4-5 at UNCG.
Based at the university, the program has grown to 42 North Carolina schools and is nationally recognized as an effective, research-based strategy for sustainable school reform. It recognizes that children learn in different ways and draws heavily on various theories of intelligence, especially Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences.
Gardner’s theory identifies eight intelligences. For example, people with bodily/kinesthetic intelligence learn through physical movement. The body “knows” things, such as how to type, ride a bike and parallel park. Students might learn about geometry by creating sculptures and fractions by moving or dancing in groups. In A+ Schools, teachers design lessons that allow students to use both their strongest and weakest intelligences.
Serving students from pre-kindergarten through high school, it combines arts integration, professional development and statewide support networks for teachers and administrators to meet curriculum and accountability standards. It is a comprehensive reform because other changes in school practice, from assessment to scheduling to parent involvement, radiate out as necessary to integrate the arts into the curriculum.
“Teachers are very willing to do this, and it is hard work. I think the greatest surprise for many people is that this isn’t solely an arts program,” Executive Director Gerry Howell said. “It’s about school reform. It’s about schools looking at how they organize themselves and using their resources to develop the strengths that are right there in their building.”
Kevin Warner, Program Director for A+ Schools, has organized the conference – expected to attract about 400 educators – to include workshops conducted by the program’s professional development staff and sessions on “best practices” conducted by teachers in A+ Schools. These workshops will include:
• Staging Documentaries. Teachers will learn to guide students as they create “living documentaries” combining text, movement, music, dramatic staging, visual images, charts and graphs.
• Integrated Literacy Seminar. Participants will examine art images in a seminar format, a process that can be used in all grade levels to integrate visual art with language arts and social studies.
• Medieval Days, Muslims and Modernity: Bridging Cultures and Time. The decimal point, zero and coffee entered Western culture during 700 years of “Moorish” rule on the Iberian Peninsula.
Participants will explore movement, dialogue and writing activities that illuminate this history.
The A+ Schools Program was started by the North Carolina-based Kenan Institute for the Arts in 1995 with 25 schools. During its early years, it underwent an intensive four-year evaluation and worked with other states to establish A+ Schools networks.
The program moved to UNCG in 2003 as a special program in the office of the provost. UNCG was selected as the program’s home because of the opportunity to work closely with the university’s School of Education, School of Music, and the departments of art, theatre and dance.
The A+ staff is working closely with other UNCG faculty and staff to develop innovative arts in education research projects and programs, especially in the area of teacher preparation. During the summer, the program conducts A+ Institutes, conferences and professional development with schools in North Carolina and other states. There are independent statewide networks of A+ Schools in Oklahoma and Arkansas and regional networks in North Dakota, South Dakota and Kalamazoo, Mich.
For additional information about the conference or the A+ Schools Program, email aplu@uncg.edu or call the A+ Schools office at (336) 334-3103. You can also register for the conference online.
