MCPS Schools and Classroom Teachers Resources

Roles and Responsibilities

Principal

1. Introduce & promote the SPARK! Program to school staff.
2. Set up a School SPARK! Team (administrator, teacher liaison, parent, teaching artist) and schedule meetings.
3. Approve yearly residency plan and budget.
4. Organize or appoint someone from the School Team to spearhead the SPARK! residency.
5. Assess the overall program effectiveness and provide suggestions for improvement.
6. Communicate with SPARK! office concerning contracting, program evaluation, and any concerns that may arise.

SPARK! Teacher Liaison

1. Be an active member of the school’s SPARK! School Working Team.
2. Attend 2 or 3 SPARK! meetings per school year.
3. Learn about SPARK! and be available to answer questions at the school.
4. Share communications from SPARK! with school’s principal, faculty, and community.
5. Share communication and feedback from the school community with SPARK!
6. Assist with the planning process for SPARK! projects, enhancements, and integrations at the school.

Classroom Teacher

Collaborates with the teaching artist (TA) to identify learning targets and/or school & classroom priorities.

1. Provides materials, curriculum, vocabulary and other pertinent info to the TA.
2. Actively participates in all residency activities with students and approaches the activity as on-site professional development.
3. Reinforces and supports the arts integration learning in between artist visits, by reviewing activities, designing new activities, and discussing student experiences.
4. Participates in planning meetings upon request.
5. Collaborates and communicates regularly with the TA, providing positive feedback and suggestions after classroom visits.
6. If appropriate, co-teach with the TA to gain practice using arts integration strategies in learning.
7. Attend district PIR days in Arts Integration, when scheduled.
8. Assess the overall program effectiveness and provide suggestions for future improvement (evaluation link below).

How to Schedule a SPARK! Residency

Forms

1. Residency Planning form for Schools and Teaching Artists (To be filled out collaboratively at the teacher/artist planning meeting)
2. 2016-17 SPARK Residency Planning Form for MCPS Schools (to be filled out by Principal and or Teacher Liaison and submitted to Director)
3. Residency Evaluation Form for Classroom Teachers (To be filled out by all teachers who participated in a residency at the conclusion of the residency)
4. Grade Level Curriculum Ideas (See which arts residencies other teams have experienced.)