TESTIMONIALS

"Art is not an extra that can be indulged in when time permits, but rather an essential ingredient of superior academic instruction."

Gloria Talley
Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
DeKalb County School System

"At APS, we use the arts as a way of reaching out to students. Engaging them with the arts enriches their study with all of the other core curriculum subjects. ArtsNow is not a replacement for comprehensive school design. ArtsNow is a teaching strategy, a way to spark the energy of teachers and ignite a passion for learning in students so that we can reach APS 2007 100 percent of our goals. APS applauds ArtsNow for being our partner in bringing innovative arts education into the classroom. Using the research based strategy of integrating the arts (ArtsNow) in the general curriculum is a sound and viable way to teach the Georgia Performance Standards."

Dr. Beverly Hall
Superintendent
Atlanta Public Schools

"ArtsNow has made a difference in student motivation, organization, and self-discipline as well as teacher efficacy and has strengthened the learning community..."

Gloria Talley
Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
DeKalb County School System

"Our involvement with ArtsNow has been beneficial to the whole school! The training helped us to integrate the arts into our concept based units at a higher level than before. It gave our music, PE and art staff a deeper investment in that process than in years past. Our classroom teachers became leaders in the process and... learned how to combine the arts with our curriculum elements to make instruction richer for our students. It became a vehicle to help teachers put many pieces together."

Elementary School Principal

"ArtsNow has brought the arts to the forefront for the school. It brings awareness to the importance of the arts and we are able to tie the arts in with what we are doing in other curricular areas."

Principal

"This was one of if not the best workshop I have attended. Everything was well organized and efficient. I would like to attend a Level II workshop that expanded on the ideas presented in this workshop."

Visual Arts Specialist

"Thank you for providing this workshop! The fine arts are so important in our school, our community, and in our way of life! Not only is this a wonderful way to learn, we are learning about something wonderful!"

K-3 SID/PID

"ArtsNow has assisted in establishing strong bonds with the new Fine Arts departments and classroom teachers."

Music Teacher

"I have already shared information with a teacher with whom I collaborate. We both now have a better understanding of the difference/value of "tools... themes... conceptualization". I think it is going to make a big impact on the joint activities we plan for the language impaired pre-K students in her classroom."

Speech Language Pathologist

"On a side note, I had the opportunity to live Arts integration! My ninth grader helped me create a "dragonfly dance" cd to use at my school when we discuss the workshop with our staff. I was amazed at the ease and willingness he had to "work" with me because of the creativity he could use through technology. Boy did I see evidence of learning. His ability to conceptualize what I had done in the workshop, talk with me about what needed to be done, and complete the process to generate a PowerPoint with graphics and music was both fun and inspiring."

Speech Language Pathologist

"The arts integration ideas were exceptional. The planning time we were given afforded our team the opportunity to make the ideas happen at our school."

K-3 SID/PID Teacher

"As a reading specialist, I am constantly working with teachers to integrate literacy into all areas. This workshop opened my eyes to the importance of integrating the Arts, as well. The first thing I am looking to apply is the importance of revision. It is evident in all areas, especially music and visual arts. I want to study how musicians and artists revise their work, just like us, writers."

Reading Specialist

"As an art teacher, I already knew that the arts integrate with the core curriculum, almost without fail. It was invigorating to see you, and our County and State Senator say that the core curriculum can and should be integrated with the arts! It renewed my enthusiasm for what I do every day. It reinforced that I have to show others outside of the art room, how I integrate the core curriculum and how they can use the arts to integrate with the core curriculum. Thank you for your work and getting the message out there!"

Visual Arts  Specialist

"I attended the ArtsNow program at the Loudermilk Center in Atlanta this August, and it was simply the best staff development experience I have ever had. I typically bring my laptop or classroom materials to staff development sessions because I know that at some point the presenter is going to stand up and give a 5-hour diatribe about how you can't just stand up in front of a classroom and talk because people don't learn that way. I've gotten some of my best lesson planning done to the drone of the voices going on about learning styles and pedagogy. However, the staff at ArtsNow practiced what they preached, and after a brief introduction we, the teachers, were swept into well-thought out art activities that could easily be used to develop curriculum at any level. After involving us in interactive art activities, they did NOT tell us how to use these activities... they asked us what we would do. I have never seen such a blossoming of creative planning. You have English teachers using dance to explain iambic pentameter, social studies teachers using music to build an understanding of supply and demand, and even math teachers using music to teach sequencing. Instead of giving me time to organize lessons, I was learning from a group of experienced teachers how to implement real learning through the arts and imagining new lesson plans that will improve the way I teach. I know these lessons will help my students because I saw how quickly they transformed and taught us in the very short time we were given. If these lessons can ignite the imaginations of teachers, they can be made to work for any level student."

HS Social Studies Teacher

"When students are involved in the arts, they have to use deeper way of thinking and understanding."

Classroom Teacher

"I loved the notebook readymade with standards and QCCs for all of the academics and arts."

Classroom Teacher

"I wish now that the workshop had taken place on M/T/W so I could have walked in on a Thursday morning with the refreshed look I left with at the end of the day on Friday. Nothing about the format, materials, presenters, location needs changing. It was an awesome, awe-inspiring workshop."

Speech Language Pathologist

"Everything was well planned. I am looking forward to follow up workshops and would like continued support for implementing arts based teaching strategies."

Visual Arts Specialist

"ArtsNow has allowed us to educate our students in an in-depth manner--teaching with skills across curriculum and implementing hands-on art components to enrich the daily reading, math, science, and social studies lessons."

Classroom Teacher

"The workshop was very interactive and informative. The sessions were interesting. The setting was great. The speakers were superb. The facilitators were fabulous."

Assistant Principal

"I don't think you're going to be able to see a big impact on test scores because of the way the testing is done; but if you go into classrooms and see how different the classrooms are for those teachers who are using ArtsNow ideas, you'd know that it's making a difference. The kids just dread what we do for tests – and it's gotten to the point where, after testing, then kids think school can be fun – but before testing, they are anxious and bored, and we're constantly trying to find ways to make the learning more engaging – but there's so much information to cover that we often end up just hammering it into them."

Classroom Teacher

"To me, it's not so important whether you can see this change in test scores – the way the tests are set up, you can force-feed kids the information and they'll mostly do OK on the tests, and if that happens everybody seems to be satisfied, no matter whether the kids can think or whether they have deep understanding. ArtsNow is really about a 'process' --- making learning fit the needs of kids in ways that turn them on and make them want to learn! Is there any reason why kids shouldn't enjoy learning?"

Classroom Teacher