The Arts for Academic Achievement Program
The Arts for Academic Achievement Program (AAA) has been bringing artists into Minneapolis Schools since 1997. While its outward focus is teaching students to paint, dance, and express themselves artistically, its real mission is to make students love learning and encourage them to use the arts to apply themselves to their academic studies. The Minneapolis School District has pledged to continue the program after the end of the initial grant, bringing the program to 120 classrooms in 40 schools in the Minneapolis School District.
How It Helps Students Learn
Students in the AAA Program develop a positive attitude towards school and learn the value of determination in finishing a project that has meaning to them. National research indicates that instruction through the arts is an effective method to raise the achievement scores of at-risk groups. The AAA Program has documented a substantial increase in student assessment scores when arts are integrated into the Minneapolis Public Schools. The ties between third grade reading scores and the level of arts instruction have a clear link. The more arts education provided, the higher the scores, especially within groups that have shown greater barriers in learning.
AAA makes students work hard and feel pride in demonstrating their skills to the community. Students perform or present their projects to real audiences and strive to make those audiences proud. As a result, students put effort into what they do and develop a strong positive attitude toward learning instead of focusing solely on a grade. At the high school level, attendance has jumped for students involved in the AAA program because students want to go to school and learn more.
How It Helps Teachers Teach
AAA brings teachers into the planning and implementation process. This builds a community of
educators that cares most about helping students achieve through an atmosphere of cooperation and understanding. Minneapolis School District teacher teams develop curriculum and work together with local artists to present and enhance new learning experiences. This leads to changes in the way that individual teachers as well as whole schools view education.
AAA research shows that teachers involved in the AAA program change the way they teach. Minneapolis School District teachers see how students learn and redirect their own efforts toward students who previously were labeled as struggling. AAA gives teachers understanding and experience in helping all students develop their intelligence, leadership, and motivation. In addition, instruction by Minneapolis School District teachers participating in the AAA program created more child-centered classrooms in which children can develop and explore at their own pace. Minneapolis School District teachers learned that the creation of independent student learning activities allowed students to develop their own skills in a different way from teacher-led classroom instruction. Minneapolis School District teachers participating in AAA learned how to encourage students to take risks in order to increase their understanding.
