What is a Demonstration of Learning Day?

ArtsNOW Leadership Schools open their doors for a half day to welcome educators, district leaders, and community partners to see arts-integration strategies in the classroom.

ArtsNOW Demonstration of Learning Days invites visitors to tour a school and see arts-integrated lessons in action. Teacher and student engagement is visible, energizing, and inspiring. You cannot walk the halls without hearing the sounds of creating, sharing, and learning!

This year, we have planned eight (8) ArtsNOW Demonstration of Learning Days to accommodate your schedule and showcase different types of schools in a variety of locations. Register below for the date, location, and model that best aligns with your needs and interests. (Note: Registration closes one week before each event.)

Angel Oak Elementary School

Address: 6134 Chisolm Road, Johns Island, SC 29455

As an ArtsNOW Leadership School, Angel Oak is an excellent example of school-wide arts integration implementation. Angel Oak Elementary was part of a $2.1 million ArtsNOW SmART Literacy Grant to support arts-integrated professional learning to improve teaching and learning in literacy. The school has been recognized for showing notable gains in increasing attendance, increasing overall test scores, increasing family engagement, and supporting students’ social and emotional well-being. It was also recognized as an Arts in Basic Curriculum (ABC) School for the state of South Carolina in 2022-2023. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from principal and arts integration champion Judith Condon!

Register now by clicking on the date below:

• Wednesday, September 27, 2023
• Wednesday, December 6, 2023
• Wednesday, February 21, 2024
• Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Powder Springs Elementary School

Address: 4570 Grady Grier Drive, Powder Springs, GA 30127

As the first Cobb County Arts Integration Certified school, Powder Springs Elementary has been a long-time leader in arts-integrated learning and a model ArtsNOW school.

• In 2016, ArtsNOW first partnered with the Cobb County School District for a K-3 literacy Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) grant.
• ArtsNOW recognized Powder Springs Elementary as a Leadership school. It was also selected as a Learn for Life (L4L) “Bright Spot.”

Powder Springs is a thriving example of sustainability through change in school leadership. Visit this school to see a successful school-wide implementation.

Register now: Friday, October 6, 2023

Center for Innovative Teaching Residency Program and Arts & Innovation Magnet Program

Address: 84 West Midland Ave, Winder, GA 30680

Barrow County has two unique arts integration models for you to experience at the Center for Innovative Teaching. The Residency Program showcases a professional learning model in which teachers from across the district bring their students to learn how to implement arts integration. During a three-year partnership, teachers receive hands-on training with ArtsNOW consultants.

This successful model blossomed into the Arts & Innovation Magnet (AIM) Program, a full-time program for 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students. We hope you can visit this ArtsNOW Leadership school and appreciate the unique learning spaces and programs available to students and teachers.

Register now: Wednesday, November 8, 2023 or Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Mableton Elementary School

Address: 5220 Church Street, Mableton, GA 30126

Mableton Elementary is one of six schools participating in the $2.78 million ArtsNOW “STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning (SAIL)” grant through the U.S. Department of Education. Come observe teachers in 3rd-5th grade as they support math, science, and fine arts standards through integrative arts teaching and learning strategies in their third year of the grant.

The Georgia Department of Education recognized Mableton Elementary as a STEAM-certified school. In March 2023, Mableton Elementary was granted STEAM recertification by the Cobb County School District. 

Register now: Friday, March 22, 2024

What to Expect

Each Demonstration of Learning Day is customized to each school’s schedule. After school has started for their students, the day will kick off with a welcome from ArtsNOW and school leaders. A brief overview will share school data, insights, and success with their arts integration approach.

With a map and schedule in hand, guests will then tour classrooms, observe, engage with students, and enjoy examples of learning artifacts. Educators are encouraged to explore a variety of subjects and art forms showcased throughout the school.

Each Demonstration of Learning Day typically lasts about 3 hours in the morning. For example, it may begin at 8:30 a.m. and finish at 11:30 a.m. (Specific start and end times will be published closer to each date.) The day will conclude with a group debrief and to answer any questions.

Principals and district leaders are invited to stay for a complimentary lunch for additional reflection, discussion, and networking. Lunch is typically finished by 1 p.m.

As a novice principal 11 years ago, I visited kindergarten through 5th grade classrooms and observed that our students were compliant, but they were not engaged in their learning. There was no excitement. Our students were simply going through the motions, and quite frankly, I felt that our teachers were doing the same. Our students were doing an unbelievable amount of what I call, “sitting and getting,” or as we say in the South, “sittin’ and gettin’”. I knew that something had to change. Our school had to undergo an instructional transformation.

I knew that my students were bright and exceptionally talented, but I wasn’t sure what the answer was. Arts integration wasn’t a term I was familiar with at the time, however, I knew that I wanted our students to engage with their learning and we could achieve this through the arts. I received the green light on this idea from my assistant superintendent and district, so I reached out to our visual arts supervisor at the time, Judith (Judy) Condon. Judy introduced me to the term, arts integration. I immediately began to research the model, and I instantly realized that exposing our students to learning this way was exactly what they needed. Little did I know at the time that it was exactly what we all needed.

Professional learning and buy-in is integral to arts integration education

Seventeen of my teachers volunteered to take the “arts integration journey.” These educators were willing to put themselves out there…willing to be vulnerable. They took risks; opened their minds to doing something new. They continued to learn and shared their newfound pedagogical strategies with their colleagues. It was a rejuvenation, so to speak. My students loved learning through arts integration; my teachers were reinvigorated; and parents were loving what they were hearing about this engaging way of learning from their children.
Our classrooms transformed from quiet, compliant classrooms to classrooms where collaborative, active, exploratory learning became the norm. Our students, parents, and teachers were excited about the direction in which we were going.

Lasting change for a community

When I was named the principal of Powder Springs Elementary, our school was one of several schools on a list of schools that needed interventions. These schools were referred to as “I-Team” Schools (Intervention Team Schools). Powder Springs was on this list because of student discipline challenges and low staff morale. I can say without a doubt that arts integration was instrumental in helping to shift the climate and culture within our building and in the broader community.
Morale improved and students enjoyed learning because our teachers loved teaching again. Arts-in-education truly created a domino effect. We were proud of our school and the work that was being done to promote student success. We experienced a metamorphosis. We went from being a school that was in crisis, to one that educators from all over the state of Georgia visit to observe the great things that are occurring with teaching and learning through arts integration.