USU ArtsBridge
Host Organization Information

Thank you for your interest in USU ArtsBridge.
 
How ArtsBridge Works: The basic formula for ArtsBridge is as follows: Utah State University will pair an advanced arts or arts education USU Arts Bridge student scholar(s) with a host school or community organization to create a long-term residency project that actively involves your students. Art disciplines can include: visual arts, drama, music, digital arts, creative writing, interior design, and yes, even landscape architecture! You will tell us what your classroom, school and curricular needs are, and together we design a project that uses the arts as an engagement tool to help teach core subjects. Remember: Arts are Core and are part of the State standards -- so teaching arts to meet the art standard is also appropriate. It can be a single-classroom project, or involve more of your school, depending on your needs and the availability of our ArtsBridge student scholars.

ArtsBridge Project Details: A full ArtsBridge project is 20-25 contact hours. We are also accepting applications for small 'pilot projects.'  These can run from 8-12 contact hours with your students. For the larger projects, ideally two hours per week should be designated for your ArtsBridge project; the pilot projects can be designed with one contact hour per week. The ArtsBridge student scholars can work on a project in conjunction with your school's own arts specialist and/or with a regular classroom teacher. The key is that we want to give students the opportunity to work together over the course of 1-3 months to create something they are really proud of.

There is no cost to the schools, except in cases that require materials over and above what is budgeted for a project, or if you are doing a school-wide project in which case the school would be responsible for material costs. Because this is a national research-based education initiative, we do require several things of a host organization:
 
Host organization responsibilities and benefits:
1. Teachers must be present at all times during an ArtsBridge project. Our scholars are skilled at their art discipline, but will require assistance in the classroom. Side-by-side teaching is often the most effective means, with both the scholar and teacher working together on a project.
 
2. Teachers must fill out a final evaluation at the completion of the project.
 
3. There will be a pre- and post test administered to your students by your USU ArtsBridge scholar as one evaluation method for your project.
 

4. USU ArtsBridge requests that participating students sign a media waiver so that we may document their project and share its results through digital images, video, newspaper coverage, etc. with ArtsBridge America, the national program sponsor.
 
5. USU will provide a USU faculty mentor to oversee your project. The mentor will be working in the same field as the USU ArtsBridge scholar and will provide consistent input in designing lesson plans and implementing the project. They are also a wonderful source of professional development for your teachers, using their own skills and extensive knowledge to better assist in creatively and cohesively integrating the arts across the curriculum.
 
6. The USU ArtsBridge project will have a culminating event to which the school and school community/parents/PTA will be invited to attend. Final project examples: students may create a play, art or photography exhibition, musical performance, class sculpture or mural, etc.
 
7. All projects will be documented and are designed to be duplicated. What this means is that USU ArtsBridge hopes the host teacher will be able to re-use all or parts of their ArtsBridge project with her/his students in future years. 

To apply, contact USU ArtsBridge.
 

“High quality education in the arts may open up the creative portal in the brain for a whole banquet of neural functions.”

Dr. James Fallon, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology,
University of California Irvine College of Medicine

“Children engaged in the arts develop new relationships with teachers, because teachers see aspects to them they had not seen before. And that changes the trajectory of the child’s school experience. They acquire a sense of pride in their work. They feel that they are in charge of the learning process.”

Dr. Rob Horowitz, Education Researcher,
Teachers College, Columbia University