MISSION + VISION
OUR MISSION
Arts Every Day strengthens learning by making arts education and cultural experiences an integral part of classroom instruction for all students in Baltimore City Public Schools.
Serving as a catalyst for creative learning, Arts Every Day builds and sustains long-term partnerships with schools, artists, and cultural institutions while working to connect and empower teachers as leaders within their school communities.
OUR VISION
Through arts-based learning, we envision that all Baltimore City School communities will serve as centers for innovation, collaboration, and partnership.
Arts Every Day believes that all children in Baltimore City should have access to inspired teaching and creative learning through the arts.
OUR HISTORY
In 2005, Baltimore was chosen as one of eight cities across the country to be part of the Ford Foundation’s Arts Integration and Education Reform Initiative. The following year, a coalition consisting of the Baltimore City Public School System, the City of Baltimore, community artists, philanthropists, and leaders from Baltimore’s arts, cultural and educational institutions formed with the goal of identifying the best way to bring dynamic arts education programming to Baltimore’s middle schools. Ford Foundation funding was secured, and under the leadership of a diverse and cross-sector board, Baltimore Partners for Enhanced Learning was founded in 2006.
The non-profit was renamed Arts Every Day in 2007 to reflect our goal that Baltimore City school students have access to arts experiences, arts instruction, and/or arts-integrated instruction every day of their school experience. The Arts Every Day Schools Program and website were launched in 2008 to connect Baltimore City School communities with teaching artists and cultural organizations.
When the Schools Program began, Arts Every Day partnered with six City schools reaching approximately 3,670 students. The program has evolved to a three-stage model designed to build arts-rich schools ensuring students equitable access to arts education, arts-integrated instruction, and arts experiences during the school day. Today, Arts Every Day provides over $165,000 in funding and professional development support to 36 Baltimore City Schools, 80% of which are Title 1 Schools serving high-need, low-income youth.
Funding supports more than 150 arts programs, impacts over 17,000 students and 1,200 educators, and promotes over 500 teaching artists and arts and cultural programs each year.
DIVERSITY + EQUITY
Arts Every Day believes equitable access to the arts is essential to quality education. The arts are for everyone. We encourage and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion through creative expression. We celebrate our collaborative and diverse community of students, teachers, and artists in Baltimore City.
We seek to challenge the systemic inequities of historical oppression and change institutional racism through our focused dedication to community building, policy making, data development, and fundraising. We serve our community by learning from and listening to our community while continuously to amplify the creative voices of our youth through the arts, everyday.
