At a recent New Orleans workshop, a circle of public school teachers introduced one another in silence. One mimed playing piano, another swam through the air, and one danced as they demonstrated a new arts-integrated technique for taking attendance.
The training was part of an initiative by KID smART, a New Orleans nonprofit working to expand arts integration in public schools by weaving creative expression into the academic core curriculum. Its mission is to support social-emotional learning and reach public school students through art infused education.
KID smART was founded by Allison Stewart and Hammel Hutchinson who believed there was a need for art in New Orleans public schools. The couple was inspired to make a change after hearing from a community arts non-profit leader, Bill Strickland.
Before Katrina, the organization was an after-school weekend program. Over its 26-year history, KID smART has worked with over 70,000 students and 15,000 teachers throughout New Orleans.
KID smART’s “teaching artists” collaborate alongside academic teachers to integrate visual, theatre, and media arts to the core curriculum. Among the several programs and courses available at KID smART, the Collaborative Artist Residency program matches artists in public schools across New Orleans.
The hope is to integrate the artist’s abilities into the classroom over the academic year so that the school teacher can use those techniques long-term after the residency is over.
Education Director Kylee Smith said the program not only benefits students and the education system, but it also honors artists in professional settings. This shift in the core curriculum sees artists as professionals and educators, according to Smith, and helps teachers not only feel affirmed and supported but also learn tools to practice in their daily teaching.
“It is a beautiful structure that allows the artist and the artform to adapt,” Smith said.
The program’s executive director Elise Goldman said the program gives teachers an opportunity to learn, and artists the opportunity to share.
“One of the things we always think about is the residency program, really being another form of professional learning for teachers,” Goldman said. “The artist is there to bring that art form and that expertise to them.”
KID smART hosts a monthly professional development series called Arts Experience In Classrooms where artists in the creative schools program receive professional learning around arts integration.
Each resident’s curriculums look different the school and the grade level, according to Smith.
“How art looks for a kindergartener should not look how art looks for a 12th grader,” Smith said.
The series branches into small learning groups in science technology engineering and math, arts integration, literacy arts, and social emotional learning seminars where teachers can choose the class they want to attend.
“It’s really lovely, teachers describe it as summer camp– we feed them and provide child care for them, to eliminate any barriers,” Smith said. “We are honoring teachers as professionals in that space.”
Zeb Hollins is a KID smART arts integration specialist who teaches Arts Integration 101 at the AXIS series. He said KID smART stands out for its utilization of various art forms with local artists to connect with students. He said his mission is to “demystify” this creative approach to learning.
“What excites me most about KID smART is that it allows their artist to have autonomy in terms of what we’d like to teach within our art form, that isn’t really dictated,” Hollins said. “And secondly, the infrastructure that is in place that provides access to the children, that really excites me.”
Hollins’ Arts Integration 101 class examines how to teach social and emotional learning through art forms like theatre to serve as a catalyst for learning.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge,” he said.
Social and emotional learning focuses on empathy, managing emotions, establishing positive relationships, and decision making – arts integration does not just focus on art techniques, but on compassion.
Smith said she would trust her own daughter, Naomi, with each of the professional-teaching artists at KID smART.
“I think the best compliment you can give to an educator is, ‘I would trust you with my baby’ and I would not hesitate to put Naomi in front of any one of those nine people,” Smith said.
Arts Integration Specialist Mia Rotondo is an activist educator who works in special-need education. Each week she co-plans with the teacher at the school she works at. When prepping for the end of the year, they created a class dedicated to making invitations to an art show, where students make their own unique invitations with watercolor art.
She takes pride in the work that is done at KID smART, where she said both the children and teachers are given the attention and compassion they deserve.
“We can collaborate and understand what teachers are going through and still be able to work with them and create all these beautiful spaces for every type of learner. I could tell you stories about that all day,” Mia said.
