Last week kicked off with a visit to Thomas Jefferson Elementary Middle to join sixth graders for their zine workshop with artist Katie Gill-Harvey! Students explored using zines to tell stories, reflect on their emotions, and share their learning with others. Katie’s workshop is expertly balanced giving students space to learn and practice new skills while also leaving plenty of room for students to share their own authentic stories and creativity. Thomas Jefferson’s arts integration coaches chose to use their AED funding to create an exciting two-week-long literacy arts integration exper ..read more

Dear Visual Art Teachers,   MICA is offering two MSDE approved courses this summer that fulfill certification requirements for MD state certification (for conditionally certified teachers). The course is also open to veteran teachers interested in exploring personal artistic practice and developing new instructional units (the methods course) and in integrating literacy strategies in art classrooms (the critical literacies course).     It will be all online, and convenient, with a balance of synchrono ..read more

In the vibrant city of Annapolis, Maryland, nestled on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, the Bmore Youth Arts Advocacy Council (BYAAC) recently converged on the historic Maryland General Assembly. Our mission?  Changing hearts and minds! On March 4th, we met Nicholas Cohen, Executive Director of Maryland Citizens for the Arts at 10:00 am for a tour of the State House exhibitions where we peppered him with questions about his role as a lobbyist for the arts community. Then we all walked to one of Mr. Cohen’s favorite spots, Potato Valley, a local restaurant frequented by legislators and ..read more

On February 13, 2024 the Office of Fine Arts presents Version 2.0 of the Fine Arts Strategic Plan to the Board of School Commissioners. In addition to a new set of five-year benchmarks, Fine Arts Plan 2.0 includes an Equity Addendum to further align the plan with the district’s Racial Equity Policy. This is an important next step towards ensuring the arts for every student in Baltimore City Public Schools. Please join the virtual meeting to show your support and commitment to ensuring that all of our students have access to the high quality arts education that they deserve!   &nbs ..read more

The District Budget Priority Engagement Session for Community Stakeholders has now been confirmed on the school website for Thursday, 1/18, 6:30- 7:30pm!  The session gives us the opportunity to raise up those priorities that we believe are most important for our school communities. This is where our presence and input can help shape the district wide budget for School Year 2024-25. We are asking the fathers, mothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, friends and neighbors of students who attend schools within the Baltimore City Public School District ..read more

Today’s Partner Spotlight may seem like an unconventional one, the Baltimore Community ToolBank! Though their work is not directly schools or arts focused, they are doing incredible work to support Baltimore organizations and communities! The ToolBank is a nonprofit organization located in Pig Town that lends a variety of equipment to organizations to support their programs and events. I recently had the opportunity to talk with the ToolBank’s Program Manager, Rachel Thompson, about how the ToolBank can be a valuable resource for Baltimore schools. On top of an extensive inventory of tools ..read more

Arts Every Day announces its selection as one of eight recipients of the T. Rowe Price Foundation’s impact grants. The foundation has committed a total of $2.25 million to foster growth in the nonprofit community in Baltimore. Over the next three years, Arts Every Day will be granted a total of $225K, equating to $75K. With this contribution, the T.Rowe Price Foundation will support the continuation of The Baltimore Arts Education Initiative, which has achieved notable successes, with 91% of K–5 students now enjoying weekly access to visual arts instruction—markedly up from 60% in the 2018 ..read more

From Ollie Ambrose, Arts Equipment Fund Project Manager: Thanks to the unprecedented support from the Maggie McIntosh School Arts Fund and the Maryland State Department of Education, Arts Every Day has been able to support more Baltimore City Public Schools than ever before. As of December 15, 2023, we have purchased $228,114.47 worth of supplies and equipment for 33 different schools and the City Schools equipment library. These requests are expected to impact nearly 20,000 students in arts classrooms across the city this school year alone. As a new member of the Arts Every Day team, this ..read more

Last week, the auditorium of Baltimore Unity Hall was filled with young, creative energy! From performances by the Mount Royal Elementary School choir and the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women dance team to the youth testimonials, the 5th Annual Arts Education Town Hall put student voices front and center. Did you miss the Town Hall? Watch the recording here!  This year’s Town Hall was organized by the Baltimore Youth Arts Advocacy Council, an Arts Every Day program designed to amplify the voices of high school students through civic engagement, leadership skill development ..read more

Our first in-person PD of SY23/24 was a success! Last night we gathered at SCRAP B-More, a donation-based creative reuse store located in Pigtown, to explore how creative reuse can be an engaging and meaningful tool across disciplines. Teachers learned about creative reuse and the 5 R’s (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot), made connections to cross curricular standards, had time to create their own paper quilt square, and got to leave with a bag of goodies to take back to their classrooms!   It was great to hear so much thoughtful discussion and cozy community building! We’d lov ..read more