A UW-Stout program that integrates art into school curriculums and the community in Menomonie has received a statewide award from the Department of Public Instruction.
Arts Integration Menomonie, a grant-funded program in its fourth year, recently was one of eight projects honored with the DPI’s 2017 Standing Up for Rural Wisconsin Schools, Libraries and Communities Award.
Organized through UW-Stout’s School of Education, specifically the art education program and early childhood education program, AIM partners with the Menomonie school district and community organizations, including the Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts, the Boys and Girls Club, the Dunn County Jail, the Arc of Dunn County and the Menomonie Parks and Recreation Department.
AIM supports and honors emerging and early career teachers, providing them with arts opportunities in which they can explore and learn to engage students and impact their own teaching competence, confidence and well-being, said Assistant Professor Tami Weiss, AIM director and director of UW-Stout’s art education program.
“From large-scale art installations in school buildings to one-on-one support in classrooms with professional teaching artists, the AIM partnership promotes collaborative models of learning to teach through an art form,” Weiss said.
One of AIM’s goals is to improve the retention of preservice teachers and early career teachers within the teaching profession. "We promote the arts as a tool through which teachers can reach students in meaningful and memorable ways," Weiss said. "AIM also believes that when we use the arts together, we form connections. We hope to build a community of teachers who experience more confidence and happiness in the hard work that they do.
“We are honored and grateful to receive this award, and it serves as affirmation that our programs are having a positive impact. The work that we are doing through AIM is evidence that teaching through an art form makes learning come alive for students. It is also evidence that Menomonie's teachers work tirelessly to impact on our children's futures. Teachers are the heart of education," Weiss said.
Through AIM, Menomonie elementary teachers have opportunities to work with professional artists in their classrooms to integrate circus arts, storytelling, music, or visual art into their curriculum. UW-Stout preservice teachers gain hands-on experience, working alongside mentor teachers in local schools and teaching a range of arts-based classes within the community.
AIM involves about 100 teachers and UW-Stout students annually.
To see a DPI video featuring Weiss discussing AIM, click here.
The DPI has given out 105 rural awards since 2005.
“The only way our rural communities can thrive is through intentional support and recognition of their importance to all of Wisconsin,” State Superintendent Tony Evers said. “Those who have worked on projects receiving this year’s rural awards demonstrate that support and the collaborative spirit that makes positive things happen for kids and communities. Their efforts make our rural communities vibrant places for children to learn.”
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Photo: UW-Stout's Tami Weiss accepts the Rural Wisconsin Schools, Libraries and Communities Award for AIM — Arts Integration Menomonie — from Michael Thompson, deputy state superintendent.
