Portland Public Schools Visual Arts Mission Statement

It is the mission of Portland Public Schools Visual Arts Department that all students may experience arts learning throughout all the years of their education.  Focusing on the whole child in order to produce artistically-literate citizens will create students who are well equipped with the creativity, communication and critical thinking skills that will lead to rich, meaningful lives.  Portland Public Schools utilizes Standards based lessons and assessments (adopted by State of Connecticut, October 2016).

Connecticut Arts Curriculum  - www.nationalartsstandards.org - Adopted October 2016

Program Goals:  

Students will:

• Practice visual art techniques and processes in a safe and productive manner.

• Appreciate the importance of the arts in expressing and illuminating human experiences, beliefs, and social values.

• Employ the artistic processes of Creating, Responding, Presenting and Connecting

• Gain confidence in at least one art medium sufficiently to continue lifelong involvement in that art form, and to pursue further study.  

• Identify significant works and recognize the aesthetic qualities of visual art from different historical periods and cultures. 

• Understand the relationships among the arts and among the arts and other disciplines.

• Participate in the artistic life of the school and community. 

Active engagement in the artistic processes as defined by the Connecticut Visual Arts Standards allows students to develop and realize their own creative potential while acquiring lifelong skills in creative thinking, social and emotional awareness, collaborative work, effective communication, logical reasoning, and metacognition (the awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes).  These skills and experiences have been identified as key characteristics for lifelong learners and have a powerful and positive effect far beyond the arts experience.

“The arts' position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.”                                                                                                                                                             Elliot W. Eisner - (1933-2014) - Professor of Art and Education at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education