The number of instructional minutes that elementary students receive in visual arts has been hot-button topic in the district for a few years, since the rotational schedule changed from 5 days to 6 days in 2019-2020. In 2017 the State of CT rolled out new requirements for media and technology instruction. In response to these two changes, Library/Media switched to two sessions per rotation, and the result was that visual art instruction lost a total of 7.5 hours of instructional minutes per year as compared with the pre-2020 schedule (for those who wish, the details are covered in this February 8, 2021 BoE meeting, minutes 2:15-3:15). In the 2021-22 budget cycle, parents made their voices known that they disapproved of this change and a petition was signed by 290 residents. 

Cory Gillette, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Curriculum, joined the RPS administration in early 2021, a new position for the district. She heard parents' voices and has been working hard to revamp the visual arts curriculum, gain back some of those lost instructional minutes, and create new K-12 pathways and assured experiences in this instructional area (see separate tab). In the 2022-23 school year, she brought in state consultant Cindy Parsons, from the CT to work with teachers to revamp the curriculum based on National Core Arts Standards. The results can be found in the Curriculum section above.