ABC Project certifies two new schools
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A student completes a STEAM project at an ABC-certified school.[/caption]
The Arts in Basic Curriculum (ABC) Project is growing by two schools.
This week, Midlands Arts Conservatory and Fort Dorchester High School received ABC School Certification for exemplary efforts to provide quality, comprehensive arts education to all students. Designation as an ABC School is achieved through a rigorous certification process. “Being certified as an ABC School means your school is ready and willing to serve as a model for others across the state and across the nation,” said ABC Project Director Dr. Kim Wilson. “ABC Schools know the ‘why’ to their often unconventional and courageous choices. They can provide the pedagogical rationale, evidence and data to support those choices, and models of practice to clearly communicate the benefits of the arts to others.”- Midlands Arts Conservatory is Midlands Arts Conservatory (MAC) is a free, public charter school located in downtown Columbia. MAC students spend approximately half of the school day studying core academic courses and half their day in their chosen core fine arts course of study: dance, music (strings), theatre, or visual arts. Midlands Arts Conservatory prepares students for arts-related careers, a lifelong appreciation of the arts, and for high quality postsecondary studies. The school provides an arts-enriched personalized learning environment, integrating academic rigor and quality arts instruction for all students.
- Fort Dorchester High School, located in North Charleston, is one of three high schools in Dorchester District Two. The high school serves a diverse student population of multicultural ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. It is the vision of Fort Dorchester High School is to prepare students for college and career readiness and make meaningful connections. Fort offers many programs that provide hands-on, real-world experiences: CATE (Career and Technology Education), culinary, visual arts, media arts, theatre, instrumental music, choral music, photography, and more. The Fort Dorchester High School vision is driven by these real-world experiences and the desire to foster awareness and advocacy for the arts.
“ABC-certified schools believe that the arts are an essential component in the basic curriculum and are central to student development. Each school is unique, but all understand how to make meaningful connections to art in all aspects of life and learning, understand how an arts-rich environment inspires creativity, and the role the arts play in defining our students’ diverse cultures but defining a schools’ inclusive culture,” Wilson (right) said.
The South Carolina Arts Commission makes ABC Advancement Grants available to ABC-certified schools who apply for support as they work to implement standards-based art curricula and to make the arts an integral part of the basic curriculum and daily classroom instruction. This commitment is achieved through partnerships with several neighboring companies, organizations, and/or individuals to help the schools meet their vision of being an ABC Certified School.
For a complete list of ABC-certified schools across the state and or to learn more about ABC Project, visit ABCProjectSC.com.
ABOUT THE ARTS IN BASIC CURRICULUM PROJECT Established in 1987, founded by the belief that all students deserve equal access to quality arts education as an essential educational promise, the ABC Project is cooperatively governed by the South Carolina Arts Commission, the South Carolina Department of Education, and Winthrop University. ABC Project fulfills its mission through three strategic goals focused on best practices, research, and policy. Visit ABCProjectSC.com or call 803.323.2451, and follow @abcprojectsc on social media. ABOUT THE SOUTH CAROLINA ARTS COMMISSION A state agency created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the SCAC works to increase public participation in the arts by providing grants, direct programs, staff assistance and partnerships in four areas: arts learning, community and traditional arts, artist development, and arts industry. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the SCAC is funded by the state of South Carolina, by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts, and other sources. Visit SouthCarolinaArts.com or call 803.734.8696, and follow @scartscomm on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for #Arts4SC and #SCartists content.
Rubi by 7th grader Rubi Bouknight[/caption]
From ColaDaily.com:
The Midlands Arts Conservatory (MAC) is pleased to announce our new school facility at 3806 North Main St. in Columbia. The school will open in fall 2018 with a focus on the visual arts, theater, dance and music. MAC’s principal is Ms. Shannon Hickey, an educator with 20 years experience working as a principal, senior school administrator, assistant principal, and fine arts and athletics departments director as well as a music teacher, band director, chorus director, and classroom teacher.
The school will hold informational meetings for parents and the community at 6 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday in June at 3806 North Main St., the former Imagine building.
MAC will provide a free, public education that effectively combines arts and academics. The school will open in the fall of 2018 with 6th and 7th grades, and will add a grade level each year until 12th grade opens in 2023. The Midlands Arts Conservatory will be free for any South Carolina resident student in the appropriate grade level who has an interest in the arts and is willing to meet the high academic expectations of the school.
The school will be staffed with highly qualified arts and academic instructors in an environment that provides training, exposure and practical application in the arts and the integration of arts into the academics of the school. The student-teacher ratio in classes will be no higher than 20 to 1 and lower in specialized arts areas. MAC will have small group and individualized instruction in the arts with a wide spectrum of academic support available.
The MAC Planning Committee members understand the importance of a high-quality arts education for young people. They want to ensure that every child in the Midlands has the opportunity to experience the power of creative self-expression.
For more information:
