Milwaukee Public Schools partners with four nationally recognized artists through White House arts initiative | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Schools
September 16, 2016
(Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Public School)
Four nationally renowned artists will be working with students at four Milwaukee Public Schools this school year to use arts as a way to help students succeed academically.
The artists are part of Turnaround Arts, the signature program of the President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities. Milwaukee Public Schools is the only district in the state selected to participate in the program.
Each artist works with their school over the course of the program, working directly with students and teachers, engaging parents and the school community, and highlighting the positive impact of the arts on the school’s transformation.
The four artists are:
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“The arts are a gateway to engage more young people in learning, and these artists will be invaluable as we more fully integrate the arts into our curriculum,” said MPS Superintendent Dr. Darienne Driver.
Turnaround Arts increases student achievement using an integrated arts model. According to a national research organization, over a four year period, Turnaround Arts schools in other districts experienced on average a 12.6 percent improvement in reading proficiency and a 22.5 percent improvement in math proficiency. In addition, attendance increased and suspensions decreased following the implementation of Turnaround Arts programs.
In Milwaukee, Turnaround Arts focuses on three key areas:
Many of Milwaukee’s arts partners are part of the Turnaround Arts effort, including Danceworks, First Stage Children’s Theater, Black Arts Think Tank, Express Yourself Milwaukee, Still Waters Collective, Florentine Opera, H2O, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and the University of Wisconsin-Peck School of the Arts. In addition, UWM and Cardinal Stritch, through a grant from the Margaret Cargill Foundation, are partnering with MPS to recruit, train and provide ongoing support for MPS arts educators.
Nationally, Turnaround Arts is made possible through a collaboration of government agencies, nonprofit partners, corporate and private partners. Locally, the MPS Foundation coordinated support from the Herzfeld Foundation and the Zilber Family Foundation for the Milwaukee Public Schools’ Turnaround Arts effort.