// El Arte: Arts-Infused Ed
El Arte’s core activity is in-school arts infused programming. In collaborative projects serving students in pre-school through grade twelve, El Arte artists and teachers use hands-on methods to pilot innovative curriculum and improve student performance. For example, mime artists help bilingual students reach and exceed their language arts benchmarks, musicians teach math infused with musical arts practices, and visual artists teach science by facilitating classroom art installations. This unique approach integrates the arts into the students’ day-to-day education, and results indicate significant improvement in student performance.
In order to achieve these results extensive training by professionals in the arts-infused field is offered throughout the year to teachers, artists, schools, and community organizations. Additionally, parent trainings are a vital component of success. Each semester El Arte provides training in arts-centered learning to guide parents in activating their children’s intellectual and creative skills, while at the same time enhancing their parenting skills.
Beginning in 2008, El Arte expanded its pre-school Literacy through Movement and Music programs and middle school Youth Create songwriting/recording, video/animation and poetry/performance programs with major funding from the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. These and other El Arte programs not only help at-risk students improve their academic outcomes, they also engage students socially and teach them critical life skills through arts-based experiences with professional artists who inspire, support and challenge them.
El Arte Alliance was founded in 1997 by Dr. Shaun Nethercott, Executive Director of Matrix Theater Company, as a key collaborative of Art-Centered Education consortium (ACE) that served various groups of public schools in Detroit. ACE was an initiative of Wayne State University, funded for five years by Skillman and other major funders. Previous to joining the Living Arts family, El Arte has operated under such fiscal agents as the Detroit Institute of Arts and SMAF (The Southeast Michigan Arts Forum).
