Regional arts and cultural partners can support arts education in schools by providing instruction to students in arts disciplines where teachers are not available, deepening arts learning opportunities offered in schools, and integrating the arts with other content areas. This report presents findings from an exploratory study on arts partnerships in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and identifies regional facilitators and barriers to forming, implementing, and sustaining them. The authors analyzed the extant research on arts education partnerships and interviewed more than 25 staff members from 14 organizations in Allegheny County.
The interviewees confirmed that partners from regional arts and cultural organizations and schools have engaged in and continue to build on long-term partnerships, forming shared goals and creating customized arts programs to benefit students — the acknowledged primary beneficiaries of this work. Interviewees also expressed their growing awareness of the professional learning opportunities that arts partnerships offer to both participating teachers and artists. In initiating and implementing these partnerships, schools and arts organizations strive to follow best practices from the literature.
Source: Introduction
