AUSTIN, Texas—More than 1,000 teachers will participate in a half-day professional development workshop on arts-based instruction strategies as a part of the Any Given Child Creative Learning Initiative Monday, Nov. 11.
“Our goal is to significantly impact student engagement, achievement and equitable access to the arts by building a sustainable community-wide partnership with the City of ϱ and our community arts partners,” Yesenia Garcia, the district’s Any Given Child creative learning coordinator, said. "This is a transformative time for ϱ ISD and an opportunity for the district to create a national model for arts-based integration in public education.”
The 2013-14 school year is the inaugural year of the initiative, which was approved by the ϱ Board of Trustees in December 2012.
In April 2013, the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network and National School Boards Association Award Program awarded ϱ’s Board of Trustees a grant for its demonstrated support for and commitment to high-quality arts education in its school district.
Eric Booth, father of the teaching artist profession, will be the keynote speaker. The morning session is at 8:30 a.m. at Travis High School, 1211 E. Oltorf. The afternoon session is at 1 p.m. at Riverbend Centre, 4214 N. Capital of Texas Highway.
Next week's training is a collaboration among ϱ and community arts partners such as MindPOP, Creative Action, ZACH Theatre, Pollyanna Theatre Company, The Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, The Contemporary ϱ, the City of ϱ and the University of Texas at ϱ Drama for Schools program.