Quotes about CETA

What Teachers and Students are Saying…

• Impact on Student Learning
• Impact on Classroom Teachers
• Impact on Arts Specialists
• Impact on School Culture

Impact on Student Learning

What teachers say…

“I found that using drama to explore curriculum subjects was a meaningful way to reach every learner.  It also helped students understand concepts that may have been inaccessible through reading and discussion alone.  I found that through our drama rehearsals, students were able to visualize, internalize, and comprehend a huge amount of vocabulary and content.”

“At an even deeper level my arts coach helped build community in my classroom.  I had access to a powerful language for classroom management which helped students make conscious choices about how they used their bodies and voices throughout the day and to work creatively and cooperatively with their peers.”  

What students say about learning through the drama strategy of tableau…

“Just reading a book doesn’t make things stick in your head, but when you do a tableau, what you read really sticks in your head.” —3rd Grade Student

“Creating tableaus helps me learn about new things.  It’s also a fun way to learn because you go back to the time of the people you are learning about.  At my old school we never did this.” —3rd Grade Student

“I think I’ve gotten a lot better at cooperating.  A part of cooperating is listening to other people’s ideas and I’ve gotten much better at that.” —3rd Grade Student

Impact on Classroom Teachers

What teachers say…

“[Before CETA,] we didn't have a really good understanding of arts integration….  Now we know that true integration is having objectives in both the arts and the other subject area.”

“The CETA program has been such a motivator for our staff to get involved in working together.  What is especially nice is that we are treated like professionals.”

Impact on Arts Specialists

What arts specialists and classroom teachers say…

“Normally as an arts specialist, I feel like I work in a vacuum in the school.  I’m viewed as the arts person.  Now I’m part of a larger group that’s focusing on reaching students through the arts.” —Arts Specialist

“After seeing the huge benefit of teaching with the arts in mind, I have been eager to collaborate with the arts specialists in my school.  I realized that I needed to tap into the arts knowledge and skills that are already present in our school-- not only for my own benefit but for the benefit of my students.” —Classroom Teacher

Impact on School Culture

What teachers say…


”This experience has changed the total environment of the school.”

"Having our principal join the team is incredibly beneficial when you are involved in a new learning experience. It communicates to everyone that this is important.”

“You come in [as a new teacher] to a CETA school and there's a strong culture that supports arts integration.  There is the CETA program, there are Kennedy Center professional development courses and workshops, there is each one of us that's waving that flag and banner who are saying, ‘hey, this is what we do; we integrate the arts.’”

“There is a potential in this project for arts advocacy [with parents].  CETA legitimizes the arts, takes them out of the ghetto of the arts community, and mainstreams the arts.  This project has a potential impact on our entire school community.”

 

Funding for Changing Education Through the Arts is provided by The U.S. Department of Education; The Clark-Winchcole Foundation; and The Dana Foundation.

The U.S. Department of Education supports approximately one-third of the budget for the Kennedy Center Education Department. The contents of this document do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.