Notes from Boston and the Learning and the Brain Conference

By Julia Di Bussolo, Executive Director of Arts Every Day

In November, I had the great opportunity to attend the Learning and the Brain Conference and visit with Boston Public Schools.

For many years, I have followed the progress of Boston Public School’s Arts Expansion Plan as the district in partnership with the nonprofit, EdVestors, worked to expand access to arts instruction. Thanks to BPS’s Arts Director of Special Project, André Ward, I was able to tour The Eliot School, a fully arts-integrated innovation school in the heart of Boston’s North End neighborhood. The Eliot K-8 Innovation School’s mission is to provide a fully inclusive, joyful, rigorous learning journey that prepares every student to achieve their highest potential by embracing their identities, developing interdisciplinary 21st-century skills, and applying an antiracist mindset empowered by knowledge to participate actively in a complex and constantly changing culturally diverse world. As you walk through the hall filled with artwork, you can see that each of the 3 school campuses fully embrace the mission each and every day.

To learn more about BPS’s Arts Expansion Plan, I spoke with André about how the Office of Fine Arts works to ensure every student has access to the arts through the district’s Arts Expansion Plan and Arts Rich Schools Ribbon. I also had the opportunity to meet with EdVestors director of Programs and Equity to learn more about how the nonprofit supports the district through data collection, fundraising, planning, and teacher professional development. I truly appreciated the opportunity to learn from Boston colleagues working on the ground to improve arts access!

Next, I attended the Learning and the Brain Conference, an annual convening that connects educators with the latest scientific research and evidence-based practices to improve instruction and interventions in schools. The focus of this year’s conference was on Teaching Emotional Brains and included a presentation of the Baltimore Arts Integration Project by Rachael Barillari and Dr. Mariale Hardiman. Together they facilitated a practical session that explored research on the importance of positive emotional climates in educational environments with a special focus on the biological aspect of heart-brain coherence, which promotes emotional stability and well-being. Attendees left with a ton of arts-integrated strategies to engage student learners.

It is truly a gift to learn from educators, researchers, and colleagues both near and far. As I process my many experiences, I look forward to applying the lessons learned to our work here in Baltimore City!