Artistyear

ADDRESS K12 EDUCATION INEQUITIES THROUGH CREATIVE LEARNING VIA A NATIONAL SERVICE ARTS CORPS.

ARTISTYEAR'S 2022-23 SCHOOL YEAR WAS SUCCESSFUL AND IMPACTFUL WITH 51 FULLTIME RESIDENT TEACHING ARTISTS (RTAS) SERVING AS AMERICORPS MEMBERS IN 40 TITLE-I SCHOOLS IN 6 SCHOOL DISTRICTS, ACROSS RURAL AND URBAN REGIONS: PHILADELPHIA, PA; NEW YORK CITY, NY; DENVER AND ROARING FORK VALLEY, CO; CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA (MOORE, LEE, CHATHAM). WHILE WE AWAIT THE FINAL SCHOOL YEAR DATA AND ANALYSIS, WE ARE PLEASED TO REPORT THAT RTA'S SERVED 12,145 STUDENTS 23 TIMES PER WEEK, PROVIDING OVER 60,000 HOURS OF ARTS INSTRUCTION AND CREATIVE LEARNING, AND MADE A SIGNIFICANT, POSITIVE IMPACT ON THEIR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES. 91% SCHOOL PARTNERS REPORTED THAT ARTISTYEAR RTAS SUPPORTED STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN THE SCHOOL. 87% OF SCHOOL PARTNERS REPORTED THAT THEIR RTAS' SERVICE ACTIVITIES MEANINGFULLY CONTRIBUTED TO POSITIVE EXPERIENCES FOR STUDENTS, STAFF, AND/OR FAMILIES AT THEIR SCHOOL. 65% OF ARTISTYEAR RTAS ADDED AN ART FORM OR SPECIALIZATION THAT WOULD NOT HAVE EXISTED IN THEIR SCHOOL WITHOUT ARTISTYEAR. RTA'S CREATED 50 UNIQUE PROGRAMS/SCHOOL ART CLUB OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS, TYING IN ACTIVITIES THAT COMPLEMENTED AND ENHANCED ACADEMIC EXPERIENCES. ARTISTYEAR SPENT THE 2022-23 SCHOOLYEAR STRENGTHENING AND IMPLEMENTING CHANGES TO ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS AND PROGRAMMING. THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN INVALUABLE AND LED TO STRONG PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION NATIONALLY, INCREASED RECRUITING OF RTAS, AND HAS PREPARED ARTISTYEAR FOR SUSTAINED EXPANSION. ARTISTYEAR EMPLOYS AN EFFICIENT STAFF AND STRONG GOVERNANCE MODEL TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE SPENDING THE BULK OF OUR FINANCIAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES ON PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION. DURING THE LAST PROGRAM YEAR, ARTISTYEAR IMPLEMENTED AN UPDATED PROGRAM MODEL AND RTA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ARC CENTERED ON THE THREE PILLARS OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, TRAUMA-INFORMED PRACTICES, AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY. IMPLEMENTATION WAS SUCCESSFUL IN THE 2022-23 PROGRAM YEAR BASED ON RTA AND SCHOOL PARTNER FEEDBACK AND RETENTION, AND OUR PARTNER SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS ARE EMBRACING RTA'S IN THE CLASSROOM. ACROSS THE U.S., THERE CONTINUES TO BE STRONG DEMAND FOR OURWORK FROM SCHOOLS AND DISTRICTS. FEEDBACK FROM ARTISTYEAR'S REGULAR EVALUATION EFFORTS CLEARLY INDICATE THE VALUE OF RTA'S IN THESE COMMUNITIES AND THEIR EXPANSION OF PARTNER SCHOOLS' ARTS CAPACITY. RTA'S ARE "VALUED [MEMBERS]" OF THEIR SCHOOLS, AND "INVALUABLE [RESOURCES]," WITH ONE SCHOOL LEADER NOTING THAT, "THE AFTER-SCHOOL CLUB, ART EVENTS AND THE IN-CLASS EXPERIENCES HAVE BEEN INVALUABLE TO [THE] SCHOOL COMMUNITY."