Adopt-A-School Program Guidelines

· Schools must have at least 50% of their student population qualify for Free Lunch programs to be considered for the free services offered by Adopt-A-School through Art Links.

• An Adopt-A-School school team consists of a principal, one lead teacher/coordinator, one Fine Arts specialist who serves as a resource, and four to five core subject teachers. All team members must agree to participate fully in all parts of the program with their respective classes, including a mandatory Professional Development Workshop in the fall.

• With the support of the principal, teachers agree to make the adopted art discipline a major focus of instructional integration within a core content area based on district standards.

• School teams work cooperatively with the arts organization’s teaching artist(s) to establish schedules, projects, lessons, goals, guidelines and communication for the adoption. Teachers are expected to participate in the classroom presentations during the artist visits.

• The team coordinator serves as a contact between the teaching artist, Art Links, and the school.

• The coordinator and/or the teaching artist is responsible for sending the visit schedule, the integrated curriculum unit, and the mid-unit planning and assessment meeting worksheet to Art Links. Each member of the team must submit an end-of-year evaluation to Art Links.

• The school’s Adopt-A-School team must meet regularly (quarterly) for planning purposes. The coordinator will facilitate these meetings and minutes must be recorded and sent to the Art Links office.

• The artist will visit 4-5 individual classes each visit. There will be 10 classroom visits scheduled each academic year and at least two planning meetings (initial in-school and mid-unit assessment).

• The school will ensure that sufficient resources, time and space are available for the visiting artists. If any change occurs in these areas that will affect the artists’ visit, including cancellations, the school should give the artist at least 48 hours notice.

• The school will attempt to minimize disruptions during the artists’ visits, including interruptions from staff members, students, parents or other unrelated programs. The classroom teacher will handle student discipline and management issues during the artists’ visits.

• The school must have at least one certificated teacher for every 25 students present at all times during any and all artists’ visits to the school site, during field trips, and during any culminating events or performances involving student participation.

• Schools are encouraged to share any improvement plans, student data, parent feedback and staff surveys with Art Links that indicate its impact on the school’s environment.

· Art Links’ staff will visit the site for classroom observations, team meetings, culminating events and performances, and conferences with team members or artists.

• Schools must demonstrate a commitment to the arts by making every effort to keep a complete Fine Arts staff, including specialists in Music, Art and Physical Education.