ArtsNOW

This week in is V.L. Heard Elementary School in Savannah, GA - an ArtsNOW partner since 2018. 🎨✨

Eight years in, arts integration isn't an add-on at Heard. It's the fabric of how they teach.

As a STEAM-certified school (working to get recertified this year!), students move between science, technology, engineering, art, and math like it's all one connected way of thinking — not separate subjects on a schedule. That shift doesn't happen by accident. It happens because a staff decides, year after year, that creativity belongs at the center of learning, and then does the work to keep it there.

Join us in celebrating Heard Elementary and the educators who built something that lasts. 🌟

We’re excited to see arts integration getting a spotlight in Berkeley County, SC!✨

A big thank you to Berkeley County School District for sharing the story of our growing partnership and the work happening in local classrooms.

With funding support from South Carolina Arts Commission and ArtsNOW Advancement Grants, Moncks Corner Elementary Li'l Bucks and Sangaree Elementary School Stars are joining us as partner schools! Over the next three years, we’ll work alongside teachers and students through professional learning, demonstration lessons, curriculum planning, and ongoing support to bring arts integration into their classrooms.

We’re proud to continue building on the work already happening across the county, and grateful for the opportunity to work with so many dedicated educators!💙

Read the full story from Berkeley County School District:

$44,000 ArtsNOW Advancement Grants will bring arts integrated lessons to MCE, SRE Some crafty lessons are well on their way into the classrooms of these two elementary schools. Mon...

Curious about bringing the arts into your classroom - but want a practical place to begin? Check out Arts Integration 101! 🎉

Spend a day with us exploring how dance, music, theatre, and visual arts connect authentically to the core content you're already teaching. You'll leave with ready-to-use lessons and tools you can bring straight into your classroom.

Check the details carefully - due to popular demand, we've ADDED a date in South Carolina!

GEORGIA SESSION: https://forms.gle/vuPA2jYor4aJgZD87
📅 Thursday, November 12 | 9am–3pm
📍 2905 Premiere Parkway, Suite 125, Duluth, GA 30097
💲 $150 Registration Fee
🎉 Early bird deadline: September 30

SOUTH CAROLINA SESSION: https://forms.gle/CTovLDpW3smMJAvL7
📅 Monday, November 16 | 9am–3pm
📍 1026 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29201
💲 $150 Registration Fee
🎉 Early bird deadline: October 7

Seats are limited in both locations! Register by the early bird deadline and get a FREE 32 oz. YETI Rambler.

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We've always had ambitious goals at ArtsNOW💫🌟

In 2021, we began a five year federal grant that required measurable literacy improvements across six schools in Georgia and South Carolina.

The benchmark set by the U.S. Department of Education was 30% of fourth graders improving their reading scale scores.

As we near the finish line for the , we are proud to report that 78% of participating fourth graders improved their reading scale scores!🎉

This is yet another reminder that the arts belong in every classroom.

We think results like this deserve to be celebrated! Want the full picture behind this number, and others like it? It's all on our blog, and honestly, it's worth the read. https://artsnowlearning.org/why-the-arts-belong-in-every-classroom/

National Arts in Education Week 2026: Why the Arts Belong in Every Classroom The students sitting in today’s classrooms will enter a world that demands flexibility, creativity, and strong problem-solving skills.

This week's shines bright on one of our partner schools: Cannons Elementary School in Spartanburg, South Carolina! 🎨✨

Now in their 4th year partnering with ArtsNOW, Cannons has truly blossomed into a leader among our South Carolina schools.

Under Principal Elizabeth Phillips' leadership, arts integration has become part of the fabric of the school, not just a program on top of it. That kind of buy-in doesn't happen by accident, it takes a leader who believes in it!

This October 21, Cannons will host a Demonstration of Learning Day, so if you're interested in seeing the arts in action - this is a great opportunity to do so!
👉 Register here: https://forms.gle/FCVVcoNX31Ue11dn8

Join us in celebrating Cannons Elementary, a school community where creativity keeps growing. 🌟

Do you think arts integration is just for primary grade students? Think again! 🎭

Arts integration is an effective teaching approach at any grade level, and our recent visit to Woodmont Middle School in Greenville County Schools is a great example.

During professional learning focused on theatre techniques, Woodmont teachers explored ways to use theatre games and strategies to help their students deepen understanding of classroom content. And the engagement was off the charts!

Eighth grade science teacher Mr. Ewen shared that his students “really enjoyed the theatrical integration into the lessons” and that the activities helped them connect with the material in new ways. So much so that he’s already exploring more ArtsNOW lessons and strategies to bring into his next unit on Newton’s Laws.

Arts integration isn’t about making learning “fun” just for the sake of it. It’s about giving students new ways to engage with and understand what they’re learning - at every grade level.

Check out our lesson library today, featuring K-12th grade content! 👇
https://artsnowlearning.org/resources/integrated-lessons/

The arts belong in every classroom - and the research backs it up. 🎨

As we wrap up National Arts in Education Week, swipe through for three of the many reasons to keep arts integration front and center: students who engage more, students who understand more, and teachers who stay.

Every student deserves that kind of learning, no matter their ZIP code or their school's budget, and making that possible takes all of us.

📣 Help us put the evidence in more hands. Join us October 13th for a live virtual Research Briefing, where we'll unpack the findings and what they mean for students, educators, and school communities.

Register here: bit.ly/46f0tGi

This week's features a warm welcome to Marrington Middle School of the Arts in Berkeley County, SC! 🎉🎨

It feels incredibly fitting to spotlight this arts magnet school during National Arts in Education Week, something they are also celebrating!

Marrington joins us with an already established commitment to both fine arts education and arts integration, and we're excited to support strengthening their practices and approach to teaching.

They kicked things off by sending a team of their teachers to our Foundational Seminar in June, then we visited earlier this month for our first professional learning series focused on visual arts integration.

Happy and welcome to the ArtsNOW community, Marrington Middle School of the Arts, we cannot wait to grow together this year! 💛

Join us in celebrating National Arts in Education Week! 🎨🎶🎭🪩

The arts belong in every classroom, and we've got the research to back it up.

In ArtsNOW partner schools, educators reported:
⭐️ 95% saw increased student engagement
⭐️ 92% saw students better understand academic concepts

All week, we'll be sharing the data and the stories behind those numbers.

📣 If you love numbers (and data!) as much as we do, join us October 13 for our free Research Briefing. We'll unpack what the findings tell us about arts integration's impact on students, educators, and school communities.

Register here: bit.ly/46f0tGi