In 2001, with the support of a first-round U.S. Department of Education Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination Program grant, ArtsConnection undertook a study of its inquiry-based partnerships in theater and dance in three schools. The project sought to address key areas of continuing investigation: What is the nature of the arts learning experience for students and what structures can help teachers and artists understand it? What kinds of impact should evaluators look for as a result of arts partnerships? Should evaluators look towards specific outcomes in academic subjects, as measured by standardized tests, or should they consider broader conceptions of academic, personal, social, and cognitive development? If arts learning affects learning in other subjects, how does this come about? Does learning in the arts directly affect learning in other subjects, or is the learning in both areas mutually supportive and interactive? Beyond Arts Integration: Defining learning in arts education partnerships focused on the challenges we encountered and the lessons learned through this investigation that have implications for the field in general. The symposium was organized to mirror the research process and engaged participants in dialogue about: Conditions, Practices, and Outcomes. For more about Beyond Arts Integration, click here
		What does it mean to be a teaching artist? What do teaching artists have to say about the changing world of arts education? During Class Acts 99 – ArtsConnection’s participatory, professional development conference for teaching artists – we posed these and other questions to conference participants. Class Acts 99 provided a chance to focus on the skills teaching artists need to address today’s issues of pedagogy, partnership, and standards and provided a forum for teaching artists to respond to changes in the field. A panel of policy makers, arts executives, and teaching artists set the stage by addressing the question, "What do you expect of a teaching artist today?" Participants observed artists at work in schools across New York City, then came back together for facilitated roundtable discussions on the issues now facing teaching artists, including defining the profession and professional development. A number of recommendations emerged from the conference for fellow artists, policy makers, funders, arts organizations, schools, teachers, and parents. For more about CLASS ACTS 99, click here
		From February 22-23, 1997, we hosted our first national symposium, Learning and the Arts: New Strategies for Promoting Student Success, at ArtsConnection’s Center. The symposium provided an opportunity to present and discuss our programs and research findings from New Horizons with a diverse audience of educators, researchers, artists, policy-makers, school administrators, and gifted, general, and special education teachers. Plenary and participatory breakout sessions covered a variety of topics including: the impact of the arts on student achievement; integrating the arts into the academic curriculum; creative curricula in dance, music, and theater; public and private partnerships to provide arts education for schools; and strategies for family involvement.