Arts Every Day: Baltimore Arts Integration Project Supports Teachers Before the School Year
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Arts Every Day Gives Baltimore Educators Practical Arts-Based Classroom Tools
As Baltimore City teachers prepare for a new academic year, Arts Every Day is placing arts education within the daily work of the classroom. Its Baltimore Arts Integration Project brought educators and local teaching artists together during July and early August to develop lessons that connect creative practice with required subjects.
The initiative is supported by the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund, Baltimore City Public Schools, local teaching artists, and federal funding. Its purpose is direct: help teachers use arts-based strategies in ways that fit the curriculum, rather than treating the arts as a separate activity.
A Practical Approach to Planning
The summer professional learning sessions focused on collaboration. Teachers worked with artists to create classroom materials that can be used in English language arts, social studies, science, and math.
Participants developed lessons intended for immediate use when students return. The sessions also gave educators time to consider how drawing, movement, music, performance, writing, and visual work can support different ways of learning. For teachers working within full schedules and district requirements, that planning time matters.
Arts integration does not replace academic instruction. Instead, it provides another format for it. A science lesson may include observation and visual documentation. A history unit may ask students to interpret a period through dialogue or performance. A math activity may use design, pattern, and spatial reasoning.
These approaches can give students more than one way to enter a lesson. They can also help teachers assess understanding through discussion, creation, and group work.
Learning Beyond Passive Instruction
Julia Di Bussolo, executive director of Arts Every Day, described the project as an effort to support learning that involves the brain, body, emotions, and senses. Her point reflects a wider concern in education: students do not all respond to information in the same way.
Some students may understand an idea after reading about it. Others may need to discuss it, make something, move through an activity, or connect it to a personal experience. Arts-integrated instruction gives teachers options without removing academic expectations.
The project also recognizes that educators need usable resources, not only broad encouragement to be creative. Teachers leave with lesson plans, teaching strategies, and materials that can be adapted over time. That can make arts integration more sustainable across grade levels and school years.
A Resource Library for Baltimore Educators
A key part of the work is the Arts Integration Digital Resource Library, which offers free lesson plans and classroom resources. Educators can filter materials by subject, grade level, art form, curriculum, unit, text, topic, author, and academic standard.
That level of organization is important for teachers who need resources tied to a specific lesson or learning goal. Rather than beginning from a blank page, they can search for material that aligns with the content they already must teach.
The library supports a range of subjects, including ELA, social studies, science, and math. It also creates a shared resource base for teachers across Baltimore City, whether they are new to arts integration or have used it for years.
Equity and Access
Arts Every Day’s work is rooted in access. Not every student has the same opportunity to participate in arts programs outside school, and not every school has equal resources for creative learning. Bringing arts strategies into regular instruction can broaden access during the school day.
The Baltimore Children and Youth Fund has supported initiatives intended to address inequities affecting young people in the city. Since 2020, the fund has awarded more than $31 million to Baltimore programs serving children and youth, according to the organization.
Alysia Lee, BCYF’s president and CEO, said arts education can help young people explore creativity, build confidence, and develop skills that carry beyond school. The Baltimore Arts Integration Project puts that idea into practice by focusing on the adults who shape classroom experiences each day.
Why This Work Deserves Attention
The Baltimore Arts Integration Project is worth following because it connects arts access with the everyday realities of public education. It gives teachers materials they can use, strengthens relationships with local artists, and offers students more ways to participate in academic learning. For families, educators, artists, and community members, Arts Every Day’s work shows how local partnerships can support classrooms in practical ways. Its digital resource library also gives educators a starting point for bringing more creative, student-centered instruction into the school year.