The History Of KID smART

The pilot year of instruction was held at Fischer Elementary School through a Saturday program serving 20 children. There, we observed students move from the ability to focus their concentration for only two minutes to be able to concentrate for 15-20 minutes, in some cases 30 minutes at a time.

KID smART doubled, expanding to include Guste Elementary School in Central City. Fifty children ages 9-12 received arts instruction every Saturday during the school year.

Besides Saturday programming, KID smART piloted an artist residency program at Fischer Elementary. The residency allowed us to work closely with the school and community and exponentially increase the number of children served to over 250.

The artist residency program expanded, bringing visual, theatre, dance, and circus artists into our schools each semester. KID smART moved to St. John the Baptist Community Center and began after-school arts programming with St. John Youth Program. Over 450 children were served through the Saturday, after-school, and artist residency programs.

KID smART provided programming in partnership with four public schools and the Central City neighborhood, including summer programming in collaboration with three neighborhood organizations. The program grew to reach over 800 students.

Nine sites received after-school, artist in the classroom, and community-based programs, raising the number of students served with high-quality, intensive performing and visual arts programming to 1700. KID smART also entered a formal evaluation process.

KID smART rebounded after Hurricane Katrina, sending artists to Houston to work with displaced students, presenting public art healing projects, beginning work in eight New Orleans schools, and planning for a new teacher training initiative.

Artist in the Classroom (AIC), After School, and Community-based programs took place in 15 sites, 11 of which were public schools where artists worked for a minimum of eight-week sessions. More than 3,400 students were served with over 4,000 hours of contact time. AXIS, our teacher training program was piloted with cultural partners the Contemporary Arts Center, the Ogden Museum of Art, and the New Orleans Ballet Association. Training began for artists in using the arts as a healing tool.

AIC and AXIS programs are linked – schools are required to commit to both programs. Twelve schools and four community sites are served.

“KID smART Schools” must make a financial commitment and commit to changing their pedagogy through the arts. Forty-eight teachers graduated from the program, and 7 of 11 schools had full-year artists in residence. KID smART coordinates arts curriculum review for the La. Department of Education and presents a summer institute for teachers in Jefferson Parish.

KID smART continues to build capacity for classroom teachers and teaching artists to use the arts in the classroom. Work continues with fourteen teaching artists and 350 teachers in twenty locations, engaging 3,528 students and providing 3,595 hours of instruction. Reaching beyond New Orleans, KID smART works with two Jefferson Parish schools and conducts a statewide survey on arts education for the Louisiana Division of the Arts, providing New Orleans’ parents with information about arts activities in the Parent’s Guide. KID smART designed and coordinated a statewide institute on Imagination, Creativity, and Innovation (ICI) for 70 teachers. The Americans for the Arts awarded KID smART the 2010 Arts Education Award. KID smART staff expands to include two Arts Coaches to support excellence in programming.

KID smART implements a new methodology for assessing student skills and restructures the evaluation process. Work continues with 18 teaching artists, 781 classroom teachers, 3,686 students with 5,715 contact hours of instruction in 20 locations. In New Orleans, KID smART served 10 “KID smART Schools” with intensive artist in residencies and long-term professional development. Beyond New Orleans, KID smART works with three schools in Jefferson Parish and six schools throughout the state with the ICI program.

KID smART receives funding to begin creating model schools where comprehensive arts integration occurs. Teaching artists complete training and begin implementation of coaching initiative. Teaching artists lead small learning groups in AXIS and present professional development in non-KID smART schools. New evaluation is piloted. KID smART serves 10 KID smART schools and 6 ICI schools and presents professional development for 649 classroom teachers.

Model schools start with ARISE, Behrman, and Langston Hughes Academy, and along with it, KID smART pilots coaching classroom teachers in school. KID smART serves 4,317 students, 2,496 through residencies, 378 for after school, 1,443 for ICI. Eight hundred eighty-seven teachers were trained, including professional development with Mississippi, Baton Rouge, and Alameda County teachers. Seventy-one teachers participated in AXIS through our ten schools.

Second year of Model Schools and a continued focus on working with data to communicate the story of student success. KID smART begins a strategic planning process. Ten schools participated, and 75 teachers participated in AXIS. One thousand nine hundred thirty-nine teachers participated in professional development throughout the state, regionally, and locally as KID smART fine-tuned professional development skills for teaching artists. Almost 5,300 students participated in KID smART programs throughout the state in residencies (2915 local, 1,466 Louisiana) and six after-school programs (917). kNOw What It Means Architecture curriculum completed.

Final year of Models Schools and finalization of Skill Sheets to document student’s creative learning in alignment with KID smART evaluation. Eleven schools participated with KID smART, serving 3,300 students and 201 New Orleans teachers. Regionally KID smART served almost 200 teachers and coached 35 New Orleans educators. With Feeling curriculum was developed and posted for K – 4 building social-emotional skills through visual arts.

Eleven schools work with KID smART, newly branded as the Creative Schools, serving more than 3,000 students, 380 classroom teachers, 70 teachers served intensively through AXIS, and intensive coaching for five classroom teachers. Regionally, KID smART worked with 209 students and 262 classroom teachers. With Feeling curriculum for 5 – 8 created, kNOw What It Means Food and Carnival kits were completed and workshops for all curriculums were held. Curriculum posted on website free to all users. Skill sheets demonstrated a doubling of student’s creative skills through KID smART instruction. The THINK smART program builds students’ thinking skills through arts integration and Making Thinking Visible.

KID smART served 3,288 students and 74 classroom teachers in 12 New Orleans public schools through its Creative Schools program. Through THINK smART, KID smART continued to work with two New Orleans schools to encourage whole-school commitment to arts integration. Any Given Child hired its inaugural Director and started to develop separate operations in anticipation of becoming a subsidiary organization in FY18. KID smART launched two programs to increase the capacity of arts education in New Orleans: Homegrown, a two-day institute and fellowship program providing training in arts education for artists of color and artists native to New Orleans, and Artful Families, a series of workshops to help parents and guardians support positive child development through the arts.

Creative Schools: KID smART worked with 2,239 students and 88 classroom teachers in nine New Orleans public schools through its Creative Schools program. In the third and final year of THINK smART, KID smART engaged outside evaluators from the Program Evaluation Research Group at Endicott College to complete a summative evaluation of the project and to streamline evaluation tools for future projects. Any Given Child was rebranded as the New Orleans Arts Education Alliance and established as a subsidiary of KID smART, creating an independent organization with its own governance board. Artful Families workshops were presented to 61 children and 33 adults, and a Homegrown fellowship program was launched for artists participating in the FY17 summer institute.

KID smART celebrated its 20th anniversary by relaunching ART JAM, a free, family-friendly arts festival. Arts Literacy NOLA was introduced to build critical literacy skills in K-3 students at two partner schools. In total, KID smART worked with 2,440 students and 60 classroom teachers in nine New Orleans public schools through its Creative Schools program. KID smART students from Esperanza Charter School collaborated with Gretchen Weller Howard, the NOLA Mural Project, and the Consulate General of France in New Orleans to design and paint a 90-foot public mural at the Hartwig Moss Insurance Agency and student artwork was put on display at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Professional development was presented at three Los Angeles schools through a partnership with Turnaround Arts.

KID smART partnered with three schools and the Kennedy Center to introduce programming specific to students with special needs. KID smART continues into its second year of the Arts Literacy NOLA program with FirstLine schools Arthur Ashe Charter School and Langston Hughes Academy. Year two of the Homegrown Teaching Artist Institute brought arts-integrated classroom training professional development to fourteen artists. Twelve teaching artists worked within 11 New Orleans public schools.

KID smART adapted to virtual learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. KID smART completed year three of the Arts Literacy NOLA program. The Arts eXperience In Schools program (AXIS) was held virtually and included Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity workshops open to all staff, board, and community partners. Cocktails for KID smART and GiveNOLA Day grossed their highest respective revenues to date, thanks to the incredible support from KID smART Board of Directors and corporate supporters. ART JAM was transformed into a drive-through event, distributing over 200 arts activity kits to NOLA families. KID smART partnered with the DeVos Institute of Arts Management to complete a five-year strategic plan establishing KID smART as a national thought leader of arts integration and arts education.

KID smART partnered with a record number 14 school sites. Thanks to multi-year grants from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the New Orleans Theatre Association, the Arts Literacy NOLA program expanded and Performance Cycle strategies were embedded into all Creative School sites. With Feeling, an Emotional Literacy program, brought musicians into the classrooms for a mini-residency featuring Lyrica Baroque. This 5-session pilot created a space for students to learn how to communicate with confidence and empathy, engage with live performances and musicians, and succeed academically. Professional Development workshops were offered virtually and in person in New Orleans and across the country. Community Outreach events were expanded to include an art night at Port Orleans, and ART JAM was brought back to an in-person block party, seeing its highest attendance of over 400 people. Showcases of student work were held at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

KID smART partnered with 15 public schools throughout New Orleans. And through its Creative Schools, AXIS, and outreach programs, the organization served 2,353 students and 856 classroom teachers. The With Feeling & Music curriculum underwent a successful pilot program in four schools, fostering social-emotional literacy through the arts. KID smART's Homegrown Institute brought together 58 passionate educators, counselors, and instructors for a 3-day immersive experience. Cocktails for KID smART’s 20th anniversary was the most successful event to date and raised an astonishing $160,000.