Preparing to State Your Case
"It is imperative that all students have access to an equitable delivery of arts education that includes dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts that supports their educational, social, and emotional well-being, taught by certified professional arts educators in partnership with community arts providers."
Check out this message which might help you become a part of your local decision-making team. Copy/paste/customize!
As you approach meetings with decision-makers, being well-prepared and having a positive attitude may help. Offering your expertise in support of common goals and positioning yourself as a part of the solution will help you achieve your objectives. When there are obstacles to arts instruction which inhibit your ability to meet Missouri's Fine Arts Standards with traditional class sizes and formats, volunteering to work on the team that is devising solutions for the challenges to be faced could work to your advantage.
SAFETY FIRST - Help your team know that student safety is your first priority.
CONTINUE THE ARTS - Arts instruction must go forward! With potential safety modifications for in-person learning, ensuring that the arts are a part of the well-rounded education each student receives.
REFINE YOUR MESSAGE - Communicating clearly and concisely will help ensure you are heard. Craft your message to help listeners understand your plans to overcome obstacles you may face while delivering delivering instruction in the arts. When asked, provide background information which supports your plan. A curricular focus on non-performance/presentation areas of CREATION, CONNECTION, and RESPONSE strands of Missouri's Fine Arts Standards, as well as strategies to overcome challenges in student access may need consideration. See Learning Acceleration page for more info.
AMPLIFY YOUR VOICE - Build a coalition of arts advocates who will help you state your case for the continuance of arts instruction. Meet with other arts teachers in your region, parent advocates, non-arts educators who share your interests to create a unified message. Let their voices help amplify your own!
PLAN AHEAD - Preparing for both modified in-person learning and contingencies for distant learning will enable to you pivot if needed as circumstances change.
KEEP YOUR OPTIONS OPEN - Consider exploring alternatives to "traditional" instruction such as arts integration, flipped classroom, flex model, individual rotation, enriched virtual coaching and other options designed to keep you working with students, and making progress to fulfill fine arts standards. See distance-learning for descriptions of learning models listed above.
