Planning for Next Year

In many schools, this is the time of year for fire side chats with administration. When thinking about next year, consider talking to your administrator about potential fine arts ideas and possible changes and/or enhancements your creative mind has been thinking about! We need advocates! If you feel strongly that there could be or needs to be more fine arts representation and/or specialization at your school, speak up! Get your team partners to speak up too! Get creative in how you can present this information.

One of the key areas to mention is considering a dedicated place for fine arts in the building. Is there a place where the school as a whole is storing art supplies? Is anyone keeping track of these materials? Is there a dedicated space for creating art and cleaning up? It is surprising how many useful and versatile materials get lost in the back of a classroom cupboard. By having a common place for art supplies, teachers are more likely to use them and share ideas for potential projects. As well, costs for materials can be lower when fewer teachers are ordering the same thing that they could just share.

A dedicated music room is essential for a quality program in any school. If you have struggled moving from classroom to classroom, it is important to communicate this with administration. Describe to them the materials and resources needed to run a musical program, especially in terms of keeping instruments and other materials in good shape and not risking having to replace a lot of items that have been damaged. As a music teacher wanting a room, be proactive in coming up with alternatives for where other classes can be set up. If there is no choice but to keep moving around, consider how you can organize materials for next year so that resources may stay in the classroom until a unit of study is complete to decrease the amount of materials you have to move around daily. 

Good luck with your fire side chats! Keep advocating!