RIT's MST in art education program joins innovative partnership

Young Audiences of Rochester (YA) is excited to announce an innovative, pioneering partnership with Rochester Institute of Technology’s master of science for teachers (MST) art education graduate program and the School of Art in the College of Art and Design. As part of the College Arts Education Affiliation project (CAEAP), YA is engaging area colleges and universities to develop and provide opportunities for students to participate as resources and providers of arts education to children and youth in a concentrated five-county service area (Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, Seneca, and Yates). Further, CAEAP will engage Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) and other professional subject matter experts to provide professional learning workshops, mentoring and coaching to students and emergent and existing teaching artists.

RIT will assist in developing and providing specific opportunities for its MST graduate students to participate as visiting teaching artists at Rochester City School District (RCSD) and other regional schools. The pilot initiative will focus on creating art experiences for RCSD students, which will integrate art and other subjects. The STEAM initiative is an integrated approach to learning which requires an intentional connection between standards, assessments and lesson design/implementation. Inquiry, collaboration, and an emphasis on process-based learning are at the heart of the STEAM approach. 

The MST visual arts program is a unique one-year, 36-credit-hour graduate experience that prepares students to meet the national, state and regional need for excellent teachers of the visual arts in grades K-12. This graduate program provides students with an environment that nurtures and promotes a creative approach to teaching the visual arts. The curriculum builds upon the model of an art educator as an artist-researcher-teacher. It prepares students to be dedicated artist educators who are committed to the teaching of art to all children. The program addresses the fundamental purposes and processes of education as well as the impact of social, economic, technological and cultural changes upon education and art.

Lauren Maines Ramich, MST program director, stated that “Young Audiences’ commitments are clearly aligned with new RIT President Dave Munson and School of Art administrative chair Glen Hintz’ interest in STEAM as well as the MST program’s core pedagogy. We are excited to begin this partnership!”

YA is a comprehensive, one-stop arts resource for programming and services that are cost-effective and efficient, which creates needed administrative efficiencies for educational sites and school districts, minimizing transportation costs, centralizing scheduling and administration of a diverse roster of local, regional and national teaching and touring artists, and customizing arts experiences.

YA adds gravitas to arts education, since its non-traditional service model does not exist elsewhere in the region, especially when it comes to placing artists in education venues to showcase and share their arts discipline grounded in pedagogy. YA is the only non-profit arts education organization in the greater Rochester region that "brings the field trip to the classroom" and is not a delivery system for technique driven, fee-based instruction.

Lydia Boddie-Rice, YA CEO, said, "YA is the largest employer of teaching artists in the region, and strives to provide those on YA’s roster with consistent, stable and high quality employment, placement, referral and professional development. It is fitting for us, as we celebrate our 55th anniversary, to prepare for the future of arts-in-education by cultivating, training and employing the teaching artists for the next 55 years and beyond.

About Young Audiences of Rochester, NY: For 55 years, Young Audiences of Rochester, the largest, most comprehensive, multi-modal nonprofit arts learning organization in upstate New York, has been the premier resource and provider of award-winning, innovative, quality arts learning experiences for children and youth from cradle to college and careers. As part of a national network, YA is a respected leader and catalyst for arts integration, inspiring and connecting artists, cultural and educational organizations, and providing innovative teaching and learning opportunities. Our primary mission is to use the arts for lifelong learning, with a vision of preparing generations of critical thinkers, innovators, and responsible citizens for life and work in the 21st century global marketplace.

In 2015-16, YA and 134 TAs provided arts experiences for 186,213 students by delivering 261 performances, 2,617 workshops and residencies to students in 120 educational sites in urban, suburban and rural communities (Monroe, Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston, Ontario, Wayne, Steuben, Yates, Seneca, Cayuga, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Chemung, Schuyler, Tompkins, Tioga, Oswego, Onondaga) representing audiences from culturally and socio-economically diverse backgrounds.