I believe that you have to have two things to find your answer: an active and unafraid PTO and an active and unafraid principal. Our school has never had a strong arts curriculum. Last year I wrote a grant and we will execute it this year. Our program would not promote teacher participation except for the fact that during the last two weeks of school, nothing else will be being done except this art program. We expect to launch a big, ongoing program from this, but it will, no doubt, require each teacher in our school to participate. Our school district has ok'd this and is even helping by providing substitute teachers for 4 of the core teachers. If you don't have the principal of the school and the PTO willing to help out, you may never be able to find the answers you seek. Keep seeking until you find it though. It's out there, I know, I'm living it.

Best answer I can give you is 1st to attend your local PTO or PTA and go to the meetings. You cna join as many PTA's as you like,, By getting involved in them you may be able to get the answers that can help you best. Maybe make an appointment woth your local school prinipal and the PTA president. Make an appointment with the Exec committee of your PTA/PTO..

I am artistic director of a performing arts group (Tales & Scales) and am constantly concerned with building lasting relationships with teachers, administrators, and parents. We perform almost 200 shows a year for children grades K-6. While the majority of our work consists of going in to a school, performing, and leaving, our larger interest is to truly have an impact on children in a lasting, creative and effective way. I write study guides(focused on stregthening the imagination) for every show, but often find that teacher do not have the time to use them. I am constantly striving to write our study guides in a way that interacts well with curriculum. I am wondering if people have ideas on how artists can best interact with school PTAs and build relationships with teachers. I am looking for a model school that has a strong PTO so that I can understand how such organizations are successfully structured. It would also be of particular interest to find a model school that has a strong Arts connection to curriculum and learning. I believe this will help me serve schools in my hometown and touring area. We lead many workshops that focus on training other artists how to work with kids through their art. I would like to be more versed in parent/teacher relationships. Is anyone able to tell me about existing programs that are examples of how strong relationships between teachers,parents and artists/arts organizations help build creative learnging in the classroom?