Biographical Community Portraits in Words and Visuals

Students at Powhatan High School combined Art and English to create multimedia biographical portraits of members of their community. In the 2022-2023 school year, seniors in two classes at Powhatan High School worked together to interview special guests such as coaches, specialists, and the superintendent. […]

How does the Joan Oates Institute impact students and teachers?

What does professional development at the Joan Oates Institute offer teachers and students? The impacts on teachers and classroom outcomes are deep and far reaching. “I think that education should be experiences… this is going to be a vehicle for so much student buy-in.” – […]

Teacher and instructor

What is it like to attend the Joan Oates Institute?

What happens at the Joan Oates Institute? Networking. Collaborating. Learning creative processes. Practicing art. Stretching and growing: “By coming to the Institute and doing the different activities, and working with the actual artists at the Institute, I can see myself as an artist as well. […]

What Sets the Joan Oates Institute Apart From Other Educator PD?

Hear from our past educator participants on how our training was unlike any other: “This was hands-on, real people, real experiences, real applications for the types of communication or the types of problem-solving or the types of thinking that we’re trying to foster and facilitate, […]

Boy holds up trash collected in a creek

Environmental Stewardship through the Arts

Students and teachers at Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts spent a school year exploring the Reedy Creek Watershed while actively learning vital components of the curriculum and nurturing creative and communication skills through various art forms. In 2013-2014, Partners in the Arts supported […]

Common Arts Integration Misconceptions

There are many misconceptions that keep teachers from embracing this research-backed, experiential, engaging instructional method. Since 1994, Partners in the Arts has trained and supported public school educators in integrating the arts into their classrooms. Explore some of the myths surrounding arts integration, as well […]

A man stands in front of a painted wall

Insectageddon: Environmental Education + Art + Activism

How do you get kids to care? How do you get students to see themselves in the world? In 2021, Partners in the Arts connected a community organization, a spoken word artist, and a science educator in a collaborative unit. Students harnessed the power of […]