More than 70 Educators to View Model Arts Integration Program

A forum on arts education, sponsored by The Kennedy Center, will be held at Charles R. Drew Elementary School on Thursday, March 30, from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. The program, designed for principals in the Washington metropolitan area, highlights Drew Elementary as a model of arts education. Approximately 70 principals are expected to attend.

Drew, along with Kensington Parkwood and Potomac elementary schools, is an arts integration model school in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The schools have received a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to train teachers to develop lessons that integrate one of four art forms (dance, music, visual art, or theater) into the MCPS curriculum.

Staff development opportunities are available through Towson University, the Kennedy Center's Changing Education through the Arts program, and MATI-Maryland Artist Teachers Institute, sponsored by the Maryland State Dept of Education. Teachers participate in team teaching opportunities and co-planning with classroom teachers and arts team members. Among other arts organizations that partner in this program are Imagination Stage, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Museums in Progress.