In August, Arts Every Day welcomed educators from across Baltimore to our 4th annual Summer Arts Integration Institute, a week-long professional development intensive for BCPS educators interested in enlivening their teaching practice through arts integration. Our focus this summer, in our second fully virtual convening, was to use the arts to support teacher and student wellness, embrace trauma-informed practices, and focus on adaptability and resilience as we continue to grapple with the pandemic. With over 250 teachers registered, we were honored to present professional development trainings that resonated with teachers and their classroom needs. Our combination of keynote presentations, creative meditations, live streamed artmaking studio sessions, and asynchronous video courses was tailored to help teachers feel inspired and confident going into the new school year.
From August 16th through 20th, teachers gathered for the live streamed portion of the conference, led by a talented and diverse group of teaching artists and thought leaders from Baltimore and the national arts education community. We began each day with creative meditations that helped us center our minds and open our spirits to the artistic work to come. Daily keynote speakers from Baltimore’s treasury of arts leaders included Rufus Roundtree, who shared his experiences encouraging young musicians; Dr. Ashley Minner, who enlightened teachers to Baltimore’s rich Native American history; Graham Coreil-Allen, who spoke about his work making Baltimore more pedestrian-friendly through public art; and representatives from Arts Every Day’s Bmore Youth Arts Advocacy Council, who spoke about how the arts have impacted their education.
