Urban Assembly School for Music & Art
2012-2016
School Description
"The Urban Assembly School of Music and Art (UAMA) is a small arts and music-based public high school in Downtown Brooklyn/DUMBO founded in 2005. UAMA infuses a rigorous college preparatory curriculum with intensive arts elective courses and arts integration. UAMA is distinguished by its Extended Studio program, which offers diverse arts electives taught by professional artists during the school day, with an emphasis on the use of new technologies and commercial art forms. These include graphic design, hip hop dance and production, fashion, business entrepreneurship, and digital photography. We are the only arts-focused public high school that does not require special auditions or portfolios for application , believing that any student will benefit from arts education."
Contact Information
Website: uamusicandart.org
Principal: Paul Thompson- paul@uamusicandart.org
Four-Year Plan Goals
Goal One: To integrate the arts into academic curricula to support student learning and achievement through project-based learning.
Approach
Goal One: After some significant mid-plan revisions to the specifics of the goals and the approach, we eventually settled on a plan of "training the trainers". The school convened an Arts Committee of teachers and staff who would lead the charge for arts integration across the school. ETA connected the Committee with an external arts partner to provide PD and guidance about resources and best practices. Members of the Committee implemented arts-integrated projects in the first half of the year, then shared out with the rest of the faculty and worked with the most interested teachers to develop their own projects. ETA support primarily went towards teachers' planning and curriculum documentation time, as well as guest artist partners and supplies.
Arts Partnerships
Goal One: Various partners over the course of four years, but culminated with faculty-wide PD facilitated by Abrons Arts Center education staff.
Sustainability Plan
Goal One: Continued cycles of peer share-outs - especially given the "train the trainer" approach - will continue to help staff feel prepared for arts integration projects in their own classrooms, and it will prepare new staff members joining the school. With all new lessons, units and electives documented, staff will also have a growing library of ideas to pull from.