SmART Schools is administered by Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), a global nonprofit organization that develops, delivers, and evaluates innovative programs to solve some of the world’s most urgent challenges in education, health, and economic development.Headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts. EDC is dedicated to human development through education with over 325 projects aimed at improving education, health, and human development in over 35 countries.
SmART Schools is a K -12 research-based, comprehensive, whole-school reform initiative that places arts-infused communities of learning at the fulcrum. This model provides daily opportunities for all students to engage in, and demonstrate skills, knowledge, and understandings in and through the arts. SmART Schools is a powerful mechanism for continuous school improvement that supports schools in the implementation of key state and local education standards and reform practices. This model is eclectic, incorporating, and frequently moving beyond, the strongest features and best practices of the most highly respected leading arts-in-education models and whole-school change efforts.
The SmART Schools model seeks to ignite student creativity, imagination, and appreciation of the arts. Specfically SmART Schools' overarching goal is to help all students meet high standards of performance in the arts and other core academic subjects including Literacy/language arts, history/social studies, math and sciences. Both the SmART Schools’ philosophy and program are based on the belief that every child has natural artistic talent and abilities. Likewise, engaging in artistic experiences every day allows individual talent and appreciation of the arts to increase, bringing out the artist in every child. Furthermore the SmART Schools program allows every student to fully embrace and participate in their cultural legacy, and achieve artistic, academic, and social success.
Six Key SmART Schools Design Elements:
1. Teach the arts (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts) to every student, every classroom, every day!
2.Teach for Understanding in and Through the Arts: Design and implement rigorous standards-based, arts-infused curriculum, instruction and performance assessments.
NEW: 3. Develop culturally relevant classroom practices that sharpen “cultural dispositions”necessary for teaching and honoring students from all cultural backgrounds.
4. Foster a personalized, safe, and inclusive school culture that promotes social justice.
5. Cultivate arts- centered professional learning communities supported by Collaborative Leadership Teams and ongoing professional development.
6. Build partnerships among family, school, community, arts and cultural organizations, and institutions of higher education. Create opportunities for learning through service to the community.
Contact:
Eileen Mackin
SmART Schools Founder and Director
email: emackin@edc.org
Education Development Center, Inc.
55 Chapel Street Newton, MA 02458
phone: (603) 494-1031
