Guide to Bringing an Artist Residency into the Classroom
- How do we know this model works?
We tested it. Here's how the IAC framed the ten pilot programs.
Partnership 1 Highly Skilled Teaching Artist + 1 Active community partner Arts Organization + 1 Engaged local elementary school with high needs. (High needs is defined as higher than state average participation in free and reduced lunch and lower than state average passing of state standardized tests.) Participants Elementary students in schools grades 1-5 Duration Up to 3-year partnership to implement an annual residency of at least 20 weeks Data Assessment data was collected and evaluated annually on five measures: Art Knowledge, Art Skills, Writing Skills, Engagement/Attitude, Interest in the arts - Plan Development: The partners spent the first semester planning – from brainstorming and refining to curriculum development. What would a three-year program look like to benefit these students?
- “Let’s have dance classes choreographed to poetry they write and revise.”
- “Let’s take a field trip to the local performance for the students to see and write about.”
- “Let’s publish a book of the students’ writing and illustrations based upon a theme.”
- Scheduling: The arts integration curriculum and schedule for the artist visits are established for every classroom in one grade level (3rd, 4th, or 5th).
- Implementation:
- The artist begins weekly visits for a minimum of 20 weeks.
- The teacher and artist meet monthly for check-ins to make adjustments to the plan as needed.
- Students, teachers, and the artist begin to build trust and get to know each other’s strengths.
- Growth over time:
- The students benefit with increased learning and engagement in school.
- In the second and third years, the artist moves up a grade level and stays with the same group of students.
- Extra field trips, events, activities and expansions of the program blossomed over the three years. Some schools expanded to three full grade-levels of classrooms.
- Beyond PACE: All of the schools continued some version of the partnership even after the PACE program ended.
- Plan Development: The partners spent the first semester planning – from brainstorming and refining to curriculum development. What would a three-year program look like to benefit these students?
- Who is paying for this & what does this cost?
An in-school residency for one classroom and one semester could cost somewhere between $1,000 and $3,000. For the full school year, it could cost between $5,000 - $10,000 depending on many factors like materials, number of teaching artists (if an ensemble or troupe), mileage costs, and whether there will be additional experiences like a performance or field trip. This budgeting can be part of the initial planning conversation with the arts partner.
It’s important that you start where you’re comfortable. If the idea of a whole-year residency and a $10,000 budget overwhelms you, start smaller. Start with a week-long residency and see how that works for your classroom. Then, grow the plan from there. One of the key lessons we’ve learned with PACE is that this is a long-term investment in your students. It will take time to find the right rhythm with a visiting artist program.
- IAC strongly advocates for any participating artist to be paid for their time, both in planning and leading sessions. Sometimes mileage costs are paid to the artist depending on where they live relative to the school.
- Teachers who plan outside of their school day may need compensation too.
- Don’t forget that materials may need to be purchased.
Where to look for funding:
Grants are a good option if your arts partner is a nonprofit, but grants can take a while to process. Think about applying for grants at least a year ahead of when you want to start the project. Grants can come from education or school district foundations, your county’s Community Foundation, local or national family foundations, and some big national corporate foundations like Crayola, just as a few examples. For projects with a quicker turnaround, consider sponsorships from local businesses, fundraising through crowdsourcing like Donors Choose or the PTO, or ask your arts partner if they have fundraiser ideas for your project.
- What makes the PACE model work?
It really all comes down to three things:
- A consistent, long-term partnership – a residency that has the artist visiting weekly for many weeks.
- A skilled Teaching Artist – an artist who has teaching skills and experience can be a great complement to your work in the classroom
- Planning together, artist and teacher – strong, frequent, ongoing communication between teacher and artist ensures all are getting what they need out of the partnership.