What We've Done
When schools closed in March of 2020, caused by the pandemic, PT Artscape purchased and packaged art project supplies for 75 students. One of our teaching artists created a series of painting videos as seen on our Vimeo site for students to access remotely or follow the written instructions included in kits. Spring of 2021, 180 art kits were packed up to serve 90 students for multiple projects led by PT Artscape teaching artists. Teaching artists joined class Zooms as means to lead students through various art projects. These teaching videos are available on our Vimeo site.
In the fall of 1998, a group of interested teachers, school administrators, and community members came together to apply for a grant from WSAC that offered funding for arts in the public schools. Visual arts, music, and drama were offered as electives only in grades 7-12. Limited levy funding supported one-shot arts activities in the elementary grades on a monthly basis. There was not a climate of collaboration between the arts specialists and classroom teachers, and arts lessons were not integrated into the curriculum. The Consortium fostered a different kind of collaboration than had ever happened before.
The arts are now a vibrant, visible presence in each building, particularly in the middle and elementary schools, where almost no arts programming took place in years past. Community partnerships have created exceptional programs, from Tales, Texts & Theater, a unique, weeklong immersion program for the entire seventh grade, to Artwave, a highly visible showcase of student’s artwork supported by close to forty businesses. PT Artscape promotes excellence in arts education by acting as a bridge between the public organizations and the students of Port Townsend.
Over time, our programs have reinforced the expectation that the arts will be a key part of district curriculum. Principals and classroom teachers have seen the benefits of sustained, sequential arts programming. Thanks to increased opportunities in early elementary school, students are better prepared for arts instruction at later grades. Years of collaboration between teaching artists and classroom teachers has generated some new curriculum, informed by the Common Core Standards that integrate the arts at each grade level. Principals have become the district’s strongest advocates for arts integration.
Accomplishments
The Consortium has transformed the Port Townsend school district and school culture over the years, by bringing educators and artists together. Port Townsend schools now reflect the values which the community places on the arts, and are considered to be essential to thriving in life. In May 2020 Port Townsend was designated A Creative District by the Washington State Arts Commission.