Welcome to the Arts—the heART of Curriculum!

Please see the Calendars page for DPS arts events!

Scientific and Cultural Collaborative Directory of Educational Activities for Teachers and Schools
(PDF) contains dozens of workshops, assemblies, field trips, tours, and matinees from the 28 members of the Scientific and Cultural Collaborative. Twenty copies are being sent to each school to the front office/librarian, and the directory is divided by grade level and subject area and contains all the information needed to schedule a program! For more information about the directory, contact Charlotte D’Armond Talbert, Coordinator, at charlotte.talbert@comcast.net or 303-893-6093.

Change to Saturday Music Program for 2007–2008 School Year

The Arts Department, with the Arts Resource Council and the approval from the Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Jaime Aquino, has restructured the former Saturday Instrumental Music Program. These funds will be redirected to allow for more opportunities for middle and high school students to participate in art programs at their home schools and citywide events. Currently, through the Arts Mill Levy funding, there are many opportunities for elementary students to participate in art programs but not enough opportunities for our middle and high school students.

This restructuring allows middle schools to extend services to a greater number of students and continue promoting all art programs in their schools and communities. All middle schools can apply for grant funds to provide after-school art programs. Principals will be given the flexibility to allow elementary and high school students to attend these after-school programs. Middle school principals will receive more information about grant opportunities soon.

Parents and students interested in this year’s program should contact their local middle schools to inquire if the school has applied and received grants and if their students can participate in the programs.

For more information, please contact Maruca G. Salazar, Arts Coordinator, at 720-423-6807.

Student Digital Art Showcase—DPS students are doing a wide variety of quality work in an equally wide range of digital formats. The showcase highlights more than 170 student works submitted by district teachers.

Overview

Thanks to Denver voters in November 2003, Denver Public Schools welcomed 106 new elementary arts teachers for the 2004–2005 school year. Approximately 300 arts teachers (170 elementary and 130 secondary) deliver instruction in vocal music, instrumental music, dance, drama, and visual arts to many of our students.

The curriculum for the arts program is in various stages of development, depending on the discipline. In visual arts and music, the school board adopted standards, and teachers have created curriculum matrices and pacing and planning documents. In dance and drama, standards have been drafted but need to be adopted by the school board, while curriculum matrices and pacing and planning documents are in progress. Assessments will be developed for all arts disciplines; the elementary visual arts assessment is in revision, following pilot testing this past year.

Districtwide activities in the arts include choral and instrumental concerts at elementary, middle, and high school levels; art exhibits of elementary, middle, and high school students; a celebration of dance that includes a day of dance instruction for eight selected elementary, middle, and high school students, and Citywide Marching Band. Many of our schools partner with community arts organizations, especially the SCFD Tier III organizations.

Our Vision for Arts Education and Arts in Education

Our arts teachers will:

focus on ARTS LEARNING (district standards and curriculum);
help students MAKE CONNECTIONS AMONG ARTS;
collaborate with classroom teachers to connect arts to other disciplines; and
serve as arts advocates within their school community.

Goals

We’re here to develop and implement a districtwide ECE–grade 12 arts curriculum that is:

sequential and comprehensive from ECE through grade 12;
standards-based with assessments; and
delivered by qualified professionals.

During the course of each child’s seven years of elementary schooling (ECE–grade 5), the child will experience arts instruction at the primary and intermediate levels in all five arts areas: vocal music, instrumental music, visual arts, dance, and drama. These experiences serve as a foundation for secondary learning in the arts.

Each elementary school should provide instruction in at least three, but preferably four, of the arts disciplines. This instruction will be delivered by highly qualified arts teachers in collaboration with classroom teachers, community arts organizations, and/or volunteers. Each school team determines how arts instruction is delivered in its building. The district allocated $10 per enrolled student for the 2005–2006 school year to support the arts program at each elementary school.

Newsletters

All files are in Adobe Acrobat format.

If you have technical questions about this Web site, contact Joel' Bradley-Hess at
joel_bradley-hess@dpsk12.org or 720-423-3723.