ATTENTION Secondary Teachers in NW Arkansas:
Applications for the 2024-25 ARTeacher
Fellowship cycle is now open!
Click here to apply by April 22nd!
The ARTeacher Fellowship Program
“The most useful, rewarding and immersive experience in professional development that I’ve ever had in my 31-year teaching career.”
-Michelle Martin, 2023 Bentonville Middle-Level Teacher of the Year (Fulbright Jr. HS)
“The ARTeacher Fellowship enabled me to expand my teacher’s toolbox in a way that seldom happens during professional development. Arts integration has been a game-changer for me and the learners in my classroom.”
-Kelly Buckley, 2020 Fayetteville HS Teacher of the Year
The ARTeacher Fellowship (a program of the University of Arkansas Center for Children & Youth in partnership with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Walton Arts Center) is a yearlong professional development series designed to support secondary teachers who endeavor to integrate the arts into their classroom curriculum.
Each year, the Center for Children and Youth selects ten teachers from grades 7-12 to participate in the program. Teachers with three or more years of teaching experience in English, science, social studies, or foreign language and an interest in high-quality arts integration strategies are encouraged to apply.
The series begins with a four-day summer institute and continues with four full-day workshops throughout the school year (twice per semester). Fellows receive expert training from nationally recognized teaching artists, financial support for classroom field trips and ongoing collaborative support from peer members and staff. The program has hosted trainings facilitated by leading figures from
- Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, DC)
- National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC)
- Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (New York, NY)
- Teachers College, Columbia University (New York, NY)
- Trike Theatre (Bentonville, AR)
- Experiential Theater Company (Somerset, NJ)
- Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (Takoma Park, MD)
- And more!
“The roster of teachers that Hung and Chris at CCY have assembled is a wonderful cross-section of rising stars in arts integration. I know this program profoundly and positively affects many teachers and thousands of children across the region. The Kennedy Center, I’m sure, is keeping a close eye on this model, no doubt as an exemplar to share with partnership teams across the country.” -Randy Barron, Kennedy Center Teaching Artist
Upon successful completion of the program, Fellows are eligible to continue with the Fellowship for a second and third year. During these additional years further develop their skills and share their knowledge by leading presentations as well as by publishing scholarly writing.
Current and former fellows have led workshops for numerous school districts across the state, as well as at national conferences in New York, Boston, Georgia, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC. In 2017, ARTeacher Fellowship alum Nathan Strayhorn received the Jane Ortner Education Award, presented by the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles; he was the first winner from outside of California to win the Award. In 2020, Fellowship alums Julie Griggs and Heather Hooks won the annual Media Literacy Award from the National Council of Teachers of English.
VIDEO: ARTeacher alumna & 2023 Bentonville HS Teacher of the Year Holly Howard describes her three-year journey (the triumphs and the struggles!).
“Not only did I flourish after experiencing the amazing presenters, my classroom exploded with creativity and joy. It brought new life into what I had already been teaching and also presented evidence of academic growth through arts integration.” -Melissa Kaeser, Valley Springs HS
“My big ‘Aha!’ moment happened talking to a friend about this program. She teaches in Chicago and was blown away with what we’re doing in the ARTeacher Fellowship.” -Jamie Stallings, Lakeside JHS
Fellows are selected each year by application process. Teachers must also have the agreement and support of their building principal or vice principal in order to participate.
“The ARTeacher fellowship is by far and away the best professional development I have ever attended. It has stretched and developed me as an educator and the strategies have consistently elevated and deepened my students’ learning.”
-Jessica Lorimer, Rogers HS
“I attribute so much of my growth to (the ARTeacher Fellowship). It’s an opportunity to be around really positive teachers who challenge themselves to grow.” -Julie Griggs, Bentonville HS
“One of the things I appreciate the most about the ARTeacher experience is that in each of our sessions we were exposed to professionals in the field; better yet, we were treated as professionals ourselves.” –Nathan Strayhorn, Fayetteville HS
“This “ARTeacher is the best professional development I have ever done. I can go on about how it has contributed to my becoming a better teacher every day, from literacy strategies to fostering an engaging class culture.”
-Hannah Mhoon, Springdale HS
ARTeacher Fellows Explore Artificial Intelligence and Arts Integration.
"We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims." -Buckminster Fuller Call it AIx2. In February, Curtis Maughan of the University of Arkansas facilitated a professional development workshop with the ARTeacher Fellowship on the intersection of artificial...
“If you’re in the room, you’re in the show!”
That's the motto of the Experiential Theater Company, founded by Christopher Parks. In November, Parks visited the ARTeacher Fellowship to share his unique approach to creating immersive and participatory drama. Audience members don't just watch the performance; they...
ARTeacher Alums Return to Share Artistic Maps and Remix
"The map is not the territory" - Alfred Korzybski This past September, ARTeacher Fellowship alumnae Katherine Collier and Jessie Lorimer joined our current Fellows at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art to co-facilitate a workshop on remixing maps to express ideas...
ARTeacher Fellow Named Civics Teacher of the Year Finalist
Congratulations to second-year ARTeacher Fellow Jessica Culver, who was named a finalist for national Civics Teacher of the Year by the Bill of Rights Insitutute! A well-deserved recognition for the incredible heart, smarts, and creativity she puts into offering rich...
The ARTeacher Fellowship is ready for the school year!
This summer, we were thrilled to welcome ten new Fellows to join our returning second and third-year Fellows for an amazing ARTeacher Summer Institute. Teaching artist Harlan Brownlee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts guided Fellows in the...
Three ARTeacher Fellows Selected as 2023 Teachers of the Year in Area Schools
Bentonville educator Nichole Paquet-Smith said being a first-year fellow has reignited her passion in the classroom. "It has, by far, been the best professional development in the entirety of my career," she said. To read the full article, click here.
ARTeacher Fellowship Holds Year-End Celebration
On May 8, the ARTeacher Fellowship marked the completion of a successful yearlong cycle with a public reception and celebration at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. This year's list of accomplishments included transformative arts-based classroom projects,...
ARTeacher Fellows Explore Conceptual Art in the Classroom
“The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.” -Sol LeWitt This past February, the ARTeacher Fellowship welcomed teaching artist Jorge Rojas of Salt Lake City, UT to explore how a conceptual arts approach can enrich the classroom. Studying the the work of Marina...
ARTeacher Fellow Receives Recognition and Trip to Hawai’i
Congratulations to first-year ARTeacher Fellow Jessica Culver! She and student Morgan Nietert, both of Ozark High School, have received a major honor through National History Day. The two were chosen to participate in the Sacrifice for Freedom: World War II in the...
Comics in the Classroom!
This November, University of Arkansas Professor Sean Connors facilitated the ARTeacher PD workshop on reading and creating comics and graphic novels for the secondary classroom. Professor Connors shared his deep knowledge of multimodal literacy practices to reveal the...