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Kiki Smith limited edition |
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STUDIO Launches Blueprint Professional Development The Blueprint provides a standard-based, rigorous approach to teaching the arts, based on the five "strands" of what Chancellor Joel I. Klein defined as a "course of excellence in arts education."
After playing an integral role in the development of the visual arts component of the Blueprint, STUDIO was charged by the New York City Department of Education with taking the lead in disseminating the visual arts curriculum to New York’s public schools. STUDIO has vastly expanded the scope of our programming to meet this challenge, increasing our annual budget from $4.1 million to $5.3 million. Already, over 1,200 public school art teachers have participated in instructional workshops on how to use the new curriculum to enrich the teaching of art in the classroom. Following this first year of implementation in 2005, art teachers identified specific needs for additional time, materials, and hands-on professional development opportunities. In response, STUDIO designed a three-year Blueprint roll-out program that provides additional support and richer learning opportunities for New York City art teachers. The plan includes the development of written materials and sample lesson plans; model art projects against which student performance may be measured; professional development opportunities that promote a deeper understanding of the materials; and the creation of six visual arts demonstration “labs” at strategically located schools throughout the city where, among many other things, teachers may come to observe best practices. Two private foundations have been instrumental in helping STUDIO to realize this ambitious program. Ongoing implementation of the Blueprint will strengthen not only visual arts instruction in the public schools, but also the capacity of the visual arts to contribute to the academic and social development of young people across the curriculum. STUDIO is proud to be a leader in this landmark initiative. Click here to view or download the Blueprint in its entirety: http://schools.nyc.gov/projecta rts/Pages/a-blueprint.htm
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The first "strand" is Art Making, which indicates what students should be able to accomplish in a broad range of two- and three-dimensional media at the end of benchmark years. The next, Literacy in the Arts, emphasizes the vocabulary of art, as well as its own set of skills that support learning across the curriculum. Making Connections includes the consideration of social, cultural, and historical contexts that can help students understand artistic meaning. The last two strands, Community and Cultural Resources and Careers and Lifelong Learning, encourage engagement with the city's cultural institutions and career-building skills. 
