Innovations in Education

The N.C. Arts Council is an education champion, advocating a comprehensive arts education for all students in and out of the classroom. The arts create opportunities for success in many areas of learning and life for all students. The arts also offer teachers new strategies for engaging students in a creative learning process that stimulates learning, improves test score and reduces drop-out rates. The arts give kids the chance to practice creativity, problem-solving and collaboration.

The nationally recognized A+ Schools of North Carolina is a whole-school transformation model that views the arts as fundamental to teaching and learning. A+ Schools develop a creative culture in which the state's mandated curriculum is taught through collaboration and multi-discipline integration, with the arts continuously woven into every child's learning experience.

The A+ Schools Program provides the professional development, tools, strategies and support needed to transform schools.

Our programs enhance student learning through arts experiences, such as: cARTwheels, which offers performances for students with less access to arts experiences; the Traditional Arts Program for Students (TAPS) where students learn traditional arts in a hands-on after-school program; and Poetry Out Loud that encourages high school students to connect with poetry through slam poetry, spoken word, and theater.

Through our Arts in Education grant programs we invest and support schools and nonprofit organizations to strengthen the use of the arts in pre-K–12 settings while Artists Residencies support more in-depth work with artists in classrooms, with an added focus on at-risk youth.

In partnership with the Department of Public Instruction and other education and cultural leaders we encourage citizen consensus about the benefits of arts in the state's education system.