Professional Development

The A+ Schools Program provides professional development for schools and organizations throughout North Carolina and the United States. While a significant focus of this work is on the implementation and development of the schools that make up the North Carolina A+ Schools Network, A+ also provides training and facilitation services to other schools, school districts and arts and cultural organizations in areas including curriculum mapping, arts integration, and collaboration.

North Carolina A+ Schools Network

In their research, A+ Schools Program evaluators attributed the sustainability and resilience of the Program as a whole-school reform to the Program's high quality, ongoing professional development and the creation of a Network of schools with increased communication and collaborative planning within and among schools.

Evaluators specifically identified the initial professional development, a five-day arts-integrated summer Institute, as the primary change agent for these schools.

To become an A+ School and member of the A+ Network, at least 85% of a school's staff and 100% of its administrators attend the A+ Institute together. Twelve years of experience conducting and evaluating the Institutes suggests that 85% participation is the "tipping point" for successful and sustained school-based implementation following the Institutes.

The A+ Program evaluators have cited the high expectations and the experiential nature of the comprehensive professional development and the supportive and collaborative work within the Network as the primary vehicles enabling schools to sustain the reform at their schools.

A+ Schools Program professional development for Network schools includes strategies to work with A+ Partners, area community resources, particularly arts resources (arts councils, visiting artists, community colleges and universities). The A+ approach emphasizes building capacity within the schools to forge their own partnerships, which they have done successfully, with local, state and national organizations.

A+ Schools Program professional development is an ongoing process for schools in the Network and has seven key characteristics:

1. Research-based reflecting context and culture
2. Whole-school and ongoing
3. Practitioner model of teachers teaching teachers
4. Grounded in a shared philosophy
5. Reflective and experiential
6. Capacity-building for teachers and schools
7. Network-building for teachers and schools

Other Professional Development

The A+ Schools Program provides consultation and conducts A+ Institutes, Conferences and other professional development with schools in North Carolina and across the United States during the summer and throughout the year. For additional information about professional development or about becoming an A+ School, please send an email to aplus@uncg.edu or call the A+ Schools Program office at 336.217.5117.

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A+ in Other States

A+ Schools Program staff and Fellows work with other states to develop statewide A+ Networks, and to establish A+ pilot sites for possible future expansion into statewide networks.

Oklahoma

From 2001 - 2004, North Carolina A+ Fellows and staff worked with Oklahoma foundations, administrators, Oklahoma Fellows and new faculty (future Fellows) to develop a statewide Network of A+ Schools in Oklahoma. Today, the Oklahoma A+ Schools® Network continues to increase the number of A+ Schools across the state, and has its own multiple networks of A+ schools, principals, coordinators and Fellows.

Arkansas

North Carolina A+ Fellows and staff assisted Arkansas foundations, administrators, A+ Faculty and staff to initiate a statewide A+ Network of schools in Arkansas from 2002 - 2005. Arkansas A+ Schools is based at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. The Program was discontinued in 2008, although Arkansas schools continue to contact the A+ Schools Program for professional development.

A+ Pilot Programs

The A+ Schools Program has worked with other non-NC schools, school districts, arts and cultural organizations and state departments of public instruction to establish A+ pilot sites across the country. Currently, at least one school/school district in the following cities has completed the 5-day A+ Institute under the leadership of the North Carolina A+ Fellows and staff, and continues to revisit the A+ philosophy as part of their school's vision:

• Sioux Falls, South Dakota - Since 2001
• Howard, South Dakota - Since 2002
• Bismarck, North Dakota - Since 2003
• Kalamazoo, Michigan - Since 2005

For more information about developing a statewide Network of A+ Schools, or establishing a pilot site, contact the Program Director at 336.217.5117, or aplus@uncg.edu.

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A+ Teaching Artist Training

The A+ Teaching Artist Training model builds on the documented success of the A+ Schools Program, in tandem with the Program's commitment to the role of professional artists as "teachers" in A+ Schools. Originally piloted with the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (MD) in 2006, and now implemented throughout North Carolina, this professional development model provides an approach to teaching and learning for Teaching Artists and other arts professionals that:

• Supports the development of integrated, arts-based teaching and learning strategies that capitalize on individual expertise in the arts
• Improves teaching artists' skills to enhance collaboration and communication among members of the arts and education communities
• Provides theoretical and practical understanding of the culture of schools in an age of standardized testing and accountability
• Shares practical strategies for managing students in various classroom settings
• Gives artists an experiential understanding of Multiple Intelligences Theory and other current theories of intelligence and learning
• Build the capacity for the creation of a sustainable network of arts professionals and educators in rural areas of North Carolina.

A+ Teaching Artist Training develops artists' capacity to provide services to schools and community organizations by engaging them in hands-on, practical experiences that promote the acquisition of new knowledge and skills to prepare them for work with schools.

A+ Teaching Artists Training in North Carolina currently includes training for the Open Dream Ensemble touring performance group, and a recent Dana Foundation Grant project to train 37 rural artists and artists serving 21 rural North Carolina schools in 13 rural counties.

For more information about A+ Teaching Artist Training opportunities, click here.

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Advocacy

A+ Schools continually advocate for the role of the arts in education. While the best and most obvious way to do this is by example, demonstrating its value in the daily life of schools, A+ administrators, teachers and Fellows are also encouraged to educate others, advocating for this approach to teaching and learning with their legislators, parents and colleagues.

North Carolina's A+ Principals, Coordinators and Fellows identified the following reasons for advocating for both A+ and the role of the arts in education:

To view the complete "A+ Advocacy Basics" document, click here.

For state and national advocacy links, click here.

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Past A+ Conferences

2008 A+ “Best Practices” Conference - “Math, the Arts & Multiple Intelligences"

Conference Essential Questions:

•How can we use the arts and multiple intelligences strategies to engage and instruct students in math, while addressing the challenges of state math assessments?
•What strategies are others using that honor the role of the arts and multiple intelligences in teaching and assessing students in math?
•How can I integrate with other areas of the curriculum???

The third statewide A+ “Best Practices” Conference was held at UNCG in August and attended by 250 teachers and administrators from across NC and other states. Titled “Math, the Arts & Multiple Intelligences,” the two-day Conference focused on arts-integrated workshops for teachers and administrators conducted by A+ Fellows and highlighted “best practices” from teachers in A+ Schools.  Written “Reflections” from attendees consistently stated that this was the “best A+ Conference ever!”  

2007 A+ Schools "Best Practices" Conference—"Write On! Inspiring Our Students to Write through the Arts and Experiential Learning"

Conference Essential Questions:

In August 2007, the A+ Schools Program conducted its second statewide "Best Practices" conference, convening 200 teachers, teaching artists, arts educators and administrators to explore the integration of language arts, specifically writing, with the arts and other state mandated curriculum. Keynote speaker Dr. Claudia Cornett (Creating Meaning through Literature and the Arts), A+ Fellows and guest presenters presented experiential sessions that challenged teachers to move toward deeper levels of integration in their classrooms.

2005 A+ Schools National Conference—"Frog Ballet: The Art and Science of School Reform"

The first A+ Schools National Conference was held in Greensboro, North Carolina from December 4-6, 2006. The three-day interactive conference was part of a two-year project to document and present the development and evaluation of the A+ Schools Program since its inception in 1993.

Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kirkpatrick Foundation and other foundation funding, the Conference and post-conference documentation were designed to increase national awareness of and accessibility to the A+ Schools Program beyond the initial North Carolina, Oklahoma and Arkansas programs. The conference also provided an opportunity to look at the past, current and future role of the arts

2005 A+ Schools "Best Practices" Conference—"Arts in Learning: Voices From the Field—Celebrating Ten Years of 'Schools That Work for Everyone'"

Conference Essential Questions:

In August 2005, the A+ Schools Program conducted a statewide A+ Schools Conference to celebrate and showcase ten years of sustained A+ school reform. The conference included presentations from North Carolina's A+ Schools and Programs in Oklahoma and Arkansas, and was attended by over 300 educators from across the country including A+ teachers and administrators, UNCG faculty/staff, community partners, Department of Public Instruction officials and State Department of Cultural Resources representatives.

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For more information about A+ Professional Development, contact the A+ Program Director, at 336.217.5117 or aplus@uncg.edu.

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