Arts-Based Collaborative of Schools (ABCs) -- The Future of Arts Education

About

In the early 80”s, the five MPS art schools were created and supported for 10 years with federal magnet school dollars. When federal funding was discontinued, MPS continued that commitment to arts education until the late ’90’s when a district policy change established that each child would bring the same number of dollars to their school regardless of the program needs. Schools with art-integrated programs cost more than traditional models. Without those additional funds the future of the arts programs would be threatened. The arts schools needed to take action and to start, representatives from each of the five MPS arts schools, formed the Arts-Based Collaborative of Schools, ABC’s.

The five art schools are:

 

· Elm Creative Arts School                                               K-5      ~570 students

· Tippecanoe School of the Arts and Humanities              K-8     ~300 students

· Lincoln Center of the Arts                                               6-8       ~850 students

· Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts                               6-8       ~850 students

· Milwaukee High School of the Arts                                 9-12     ~900 students

 

 

 

The Challenge

This group of Milwaukee Public Schools is not only succeeding, but are among the leaders in education innovation. Numerous national studies continue to validate the effectiveness of arts-integrated education, and the cutting-edge approaches that these schools have been refining for 27 years.

 

The ABCs outpace other MPS schools in every area including student achievement, attendance, and behavior.  In fact, MHSA graduation rate exceeds the MPS district average by almost 30%. This community must look to our successful schools as a model.

 

Despite the achievements of the ABCs, these schools must fight every year to preserve funding for arts part of the school day. Each school has been forced to reduce its arts personnel below levels needed to implement the arts-rich program.

Mission

The Arts Schools of MPS provide leadership that fosters excellence through the arts to inspire creative, innovative, thinkers.  We do this by maximizing the power of the arts so every child succeeds to their fullest potential and is prepared to meet the challenges of the future with imagination and passion.

GUESTBOOK

Vision:

The ABCs propose a visionary plan to develop model K-12 programming in arts integration, create a community resource center for arts instruction and teacher training, and establish nationally recognized standards in urban arts education. The cornerstone of the plan is creation of a groundbreaking integrated K-12 arts education campus. An investment in a K-12 arts education campus offers Milwaukee its best hope for long-term sustainability as an economically, socially and educationally successful  21st Century urban center.

 

A state-of-the-art campus will provide superior facilities and a cohesive K-12 curriculum for approximately 3000 students. In addition and equally important, the facility will provide a focal point for arts education. The campus resource center will be designed to provide community resources, training, research and services to educators and other schools throughout the city. All local schools and children will benefit from the advances in arts integration as a result of the ABC’s campus. Art-rich opportunities to enhance quality arts education for all children in MPS and our community will be coordinated via experienced faculty. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has expressed an interest in using the arts classrooms for their education majors.

 

The benefits achieved through this plan both  in the classrooms such as improved student behavior, decreased drop out rates and increased graduation rates, and for the community in terms of shared economic efficiencies collaboration between schools, arts groups and business community and future profits from curriculum sales far exceed the initial costs  of this plan. Milwaukee cannot afford to pass on this opportunity to revolutionize the delivery of public  education and remain a leader in the new global economy.