Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington is thrilled to be participating in the first Professional Learning Seminar at the Woodruff Arts Center, made possible in part by a JCPenney Cares Award. Hosted by the national Young Audiences Arts for Learning, the seminar will be attended by over 50 educators, teaching artists, school administrators, and organizational leaders from across the country, making it one of the most significant professional learning seminars ever held for the Arts for Learning curriculum. The Arts for Learning initiative is made possible by JCPenney Cares and its customers who generously donated a portion of their transactions last August to benefit the arts in education.

This intensive seminar is the first phase of a yearlong initiative that will revitalize the Arts for Learning (A4L) curriculum, an innovative, research-based literacy program that blends the creativity and discipline of the arts with learning science. During the seminar, participants will gain an understanding of the pedagogy and arts integration methods that serve as the foundation for A4L while also learning the strategies for implementing the program using the new online curriculum platform.

Eric Booth, an award-winning arts in education expert, will be facilitating the first day of the seminar and will lead engaging sessions on developing partnerships and best practices in arts integration for teaching artists, classroom teachers, administrators and program staff. Additional sessions will be led by a national professional development team, including Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington’s Programs Director Allison Tigard, that will present case studies, share best practices, and provide ongoing mentorship for those who are new to the program.

In the spring, the A4L Initiative will continue with student implementation in twelve Young Audiences’ affiliate sites around the country. Each site will expand their program to include more grade levels in the fall. Our affiliate will be working with Lewis Elementary in SE Portland.

The Young Audiences Arts for Learning network has long been committed to supporting the growth and development of individual affiliates through a variety of services and grant programs. The A4L Initiative provides an opportunity to encourage and support professional staff capacity in understanding the role the A4L curriculum can play in the development of arts integration practices in all settings.

The participating affiliates are:

Arts for Learning, Indiana
Arts for Learning, Woodruff Arts Center
Center for Arts Inspired Learning: The Northeast Ohio Affiliate of YA
Springboard: The St. Louis Affiliate of YA
Young Audiences/Arts for Learning Maryland
Young Audiences of Houston
Young Audiences of Louisiana
Young Audiences of New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania
Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington
Young Audiences of Rochester
Young Audiences of Virginia
Young Audiences Western New York