PARTNERS IN THE ARTS
at the University of Richmond
In-school projects led by educators and funded by Partners in the Arts Awards from 1994-2021 and the Joan Oates Institute for Integrated Learning from 2022 onward
Ashby McNeil is an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher at Falling Creek Middle School. In the 2018-2019 school year, McNeil implemented a project to help her English learner students express themselves in the classroom by sharing their personal journeys. Together with fellow ESL […]
In 2015, teachers in Midlothian, VA worked to develop an innovative and interdisciplinary Humanities program at Clover Hill High School. The initiative, led by Barbara Bingham and Rebekah Amato, aimed to help student academic performance and absenteeism by merging language arts with social studies classes. […]
Dear Diary, The kids have lost it! They are bouncing off of the walls, literally. If they try to body slam each other one more time off of the sofa, I am going to lose it. Send help… Wrestlers as Storytellers Need a solution to […]
The world is integrated, cross-curricular, and experiential. Thus, it is logical, natural, and beneficial for students to learn in the same way. To truly prepare students for their futures as engaged participants in society, this type of instruction should be the norm. From 2011-2012, a […]
Creating, making, and problem-solving can begin anywhere there is imagination, and imagination is free. In early 2020, you may have noticed rainbows hanging in windows of houses in your neighborhood. Maybe you saw posts about masks being made by novice sewers, raised garden beds being […]
What better primary source is there to study both history and memoir-writing than a WWII veteran? Partners in the Arts director Liz Sheehan visited Clover Hill High School to observe implementation of their Engaging Creative Thinkers (ECT) Award project, The Paths Project. Students in the […]
In 2012, Laurel Meadow Elementary School integrated the arts and literacy in a memorable learning experience for students. Art teacher Jamesha Hairston created an inspiring Partners in the Arts Engaging Creative Thinkers (ECT) Award project for Hanover County Public Schools: Laurel Meadow Lion’s Den: An […]
What is the Bulldog Art Collective? The bulldog is the mascot of George Wythe High School in Richmond Public Schools (RPS), and the collective is made up of the students who are working with art teacher and department chair William E. Johnson, as well as […]
It’s good for the soul to spend time with creative teachers and their students. It’s good for students to see their culture reflected in the classroom. It’s good for teachers to integrate their subject matter across the curriculum. Partners in the Arts (PIA) helps make […]
It’s hard not to smile admiring student artwork along the walls of a school. Partners in the Arts (PIA) director Liz Sheehan visited Greenwood Elementary School in Henrico County Public Schools to see the work 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders were doing on a large […]
“How did they get the jail underground?” This was the question a fourth grader at Swansboro Elementary asked Selden Richardson, following his presentation about significant sites in Richmond’s history. It was in reference to the notorious Lumpkin’s Slave Jail which was unearthed in the Shockoe […]
Partners in the Arts (PIA) founder Joan Oates and director Liz Sheehan visited Spring Run Elementary in Chesterfield County Public Schools (CCPS) to see part of a book-making teacher workshop organized by art teacher Michele Kelly. Michele was Spring Run’s Teacher of the Year in […]
Powhatan High teacher Jane Brown developed Exploring the Powhatans: Past and Present as a project that integrates a wide range of subjects to explore the history, culture and contemporary lives of the Mattaponi Powhatan. Made possible by a 2010 Partners in the Arts’ Engaging Creative […]
In the fall of 2010, Joan Oates, founder of Partners in the Arts (PIA), and director Liz Sheehan visited Hanover County Public School‘s Cold Harbor Elementary. Art teacher Joyce Crown-Wilkins and her school received an Engaging Creative Thinkers (ECT) Award from Partners in the Arts […]