This summer, these three organizations are teaming up to offer a variety of new arts education classes specifically for educators, including how to create a bucket drumming circle to teach math, incorporate music and movement with stories from children’s books to enhance literacy, or use painting techniques to promote lifelong creativity.

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Plus, each day of class will include a lunch-and-learn opportunity hosted by one of the three partners for participants who stay after the morning class or arrive early for the afternoon class. Attendees will find out about how to supplement curriculum with resources available for use in their classrooms.

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All Arts Camp for Educators classes will be held at the Paramount Center for the Arts in downtown St. Cloud from Monday, June 10 through Wednesday, June 12. All participants are invited to a reception in the Granite Lobby at the Paramount with the Central Minnesota Arts Board and several regional teaching artists from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on the last day of classes.

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“Our hope is that we use our strengths to provide the relevant coursework educators are looking for,” says Solveig Anderson, director of education and outreach at the Paramount Center for the Arts. “This summer experience is designed to help educators find new ways of capturing goals and objectives as well as to allow them to share stories of inspiration, challenges, and adaptations with each other. We want teachers to experience new documented success and share it with others and say, ‘Try this—it worked.’”

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Ultimately, though, students are the benefactors of this professional development opportunity. “Research shows that arts education has so many benefits—for students of poverty and for students who generally feel alienated at school,” says Michelle Wang, director of learning and development at Resource. “The arts are a way to engage all students and keep them motivated. These classes are for any educator who is interested in integrating arts into their curriculum—science, math, social studies, or any subject. At a time when education is focused on social emotional learning, the arts are a great way to connect academics to that.”

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This year, registration costs for all Arts Camp courses are reduced thanks to the generous funding provided by the Perpich Center for the Arts. View all summer classes, workshops, and training here or visit Resource's events page.