The Florida Department of Education has given the University of Tampa a $660,000 grant for the infusion of the arts into school curriculums around high-need Florida schools.
Along with other local colleges such as Eckerd, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Ringling College of Art and Design, St. Leo University and Southeastern University, UT aims to create a team of 175 teachers empowering young minds to use creativity and inventiveness inside and outside the classroom.
“The arts are a learning catalyst, and this grant will help us deliver that catalyst effectively, enlightening teachers, engaging students and energizing the performance of both,” Anne Gormly, UT dean of the College of Social Sciences, said.
According to a press release, there are four components to the grant:
1) The selected teachers will attend “Find Arts” sessions and summer workshops as part of a professional development track that culminates in a master’s degree in education.
2) ARTe, an online-social network for all statewide arts teachers, will be built, and will include resources, modules, faculty coaching, interactive teacher support and a lesson plan library.
3) Follow-up sessions will be coordinated with the cohort teachers to bolster the network of teachers using the arts to facilitate learning.
4) For those teachers that commit to becoming an arts coach in their schools, the partner institutions will help support them academically and financially to obtain a master’s degree in education that is infused with the arts.
Bringing arts into classrooms as a way of learning, students are encouraged to use both logic and imagination to succeed. This “Untie the Right Brain” demonstration program will create a balanced curriculum with a goal of improving the performance in school.