Today, CLARA announced a series of programs to provide emerging artists in Sacramento with professional career training and support. The professional development program launches with an 8-session course entitled “The Art of Leadership + Teaching Artistry (ALTA),” which will provide working artists with the tools, vocabulary, and training to become teaching artists in Sacramento-area schools.
Teaching artists are professional, working, artists in the community who integrate their art form and skills into school-day, after-school, community, and social service programs, usually on a short-term basis. In a time when budget restrictions mean only 37% of Sacramento County-area public schools are able to offer in-school arts programs, teaching artists provide schools with a flexible way to integrate essential arts into the curriculum…but trained teaching artists are in short supply.
“Being a successful arts teacher in a studio space is very different than being successful in a classroom environment,” explains Emili Danz, CLARA’s education outreach director. “Student behavior is different, the space is often varied and unpredictable, and the volume of students is much higher. If arts education is happening during the school day, there are also state education standards and partnership with a classroom teacher to be considered. ALTA workshops will provide artists with strategies to establish classroom culture, build a successful curriculum, and to partner effectively with classroom teachers.”
While participation in the workshop series does not guarantee employment as a teaching artist, participation in the series will provide opportunities for would-be teaching artists to connect with organizations seeking to hire in this area.
The first workshop, “BUILDING CLASSROOM CULTURE WITH CONFIDENCE, CHARACTER + CHARISMA” will occur March 28 from 11am-1pm; subsequent workshops on teaching artistry will follow on a monthly basis through October. All classes take place in The Auditorium at CLARA (1425 24th St, Sacramento CA 95816). Tuition is $20 for a single workshop or $150 for all eight. For more information and to register for workshops, visit claramidtown.org/alta.