K-12 EDUCATION PROGRAMS

As a result of recent cuts in K-12 schools both nationally and in Oregon, there is a crisis in arts education. Facing financial hardship, many school districts have decreased or abandoned their commitment to arts training despite mounting evidence that artistic skills are necessary to students’ acquisition of math, language, and science concepts.

In alignment with the museum’s mission to serve K-12 communities throughout the state, the staff at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is committed to creating educational programs and to training teachers to integrate the arts back into the classroom. Please see our 2004-5 School Programs brochure for a list of school tours that will be available upon reopening in October. We are currently accepting tour requests for the 2004-5 school year.

In support of this commitment, we offer extensive educational outreach programs that include teacher training sessions and school visits led by museum volunteers. Additionally, we provide teachers with access to our “exhibitions on wheels” called outreach kits. These museum resources are available for classroom use and are central to the art education program. Outreach kits contain artifacts, reproductions representing the museum’s collection, and teacher resources. Development of the kits is guided by the Oregon Department of Education’s learning standards for art, social studies, and language arts. Please view the Teacher Resource Guides for our Chinese Art and Culture Outreach Kit and our Japanese Art and Culture Outreach Kit.

Through these educational outreach programs, the museum estimates it will reach 6,000 students next year in Lane County, including rural and underserved school districts.

ArtsBridge at the University of Oregon

ArtsBridge America, an arts education program created at the University of California at Irvine, has elected the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in expanding its critically acclaimed program to Oregon schools. ArtsBridge at the UO, part of the ArtsBridge America network, will work in partnership with local public schools to provide high-quality arts education to K-12 school children. Scholarships will be awarded to those undergraduate and graduate students who teach the arts and lead projects in art and drama.

The three primary objectives of ArtsBridge at the UO are to provide:

-Continuing instruction in the arts for K-12 students
-Professional support for K-12 teachers in an effort to integrate the arts into the traditional curricula while addressing local, state, and national standards in the arts
-K-12 teaching opportunities for top UO students in the visual and performing arts

ArtsBridge America recognizes public schools’ need for the inclusion of arts education within a comprehensive curriculum, and is acting to aid universities in applying their vast stores of expertise and personnel on behalf of K-12 improvements in teacher support and child learning. The ArtsBridge America network includes all University of California campuses as well as New York University, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Arizona, and University of Utah Salt Lake City.

UO students (scholars) and K-12 teachers interested in participating in UO ArtsBridge during the Fall 2004 or Winter 2005 term are asked to complete the appropriate application below and mail it to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.

UO Student (Scholar) Application Form (download pdf)

Classroom Teacher Application Form (download pdf)


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