SAIL: Mission, Goals, & Outcomes

What is SAIL? | Mission, Goals, & Outcomes | Arts Integration | Resources

Our mission is to foster the creation, dissemination, evaluation, and improvement of high-quality education programs in arts and arts integration. These programs are intended to:

improve student learning across disciplines—especially among underserved or disadvantaged students—by helping schools integrate their curricula through the arts. Studies have shown that underserved and at-risk students achieve significant academic gains through arts integration;
address the special needs of all students that are not being effectively addressed by other methods;
increase arts literacy and appreciation of the arts and humanities among students, teachers, and communities;
improve teachers' content knowledge and classroom practice;
effect positive change within schools, such as:
- increased attendance rates;
- opportunities to demonstrate and evaluate student learning in a greater variety of ways;
- teacher, curricular, and school renewal and improvement;
- and teachers' expanded perceptions of students' abilities.

SAIL's overall goal within this mission is to provide comprehensive guidance, advice, technical and other assistance to all New Hampshire K-12 public schools that wish to strengthen their arts programs and/or integrate curricula through the arts. Our objectives within that goal are reflected in the purposes of the programs we will help to disseminate, which are to:

increase arts and humanities literacy among students, teachers, and communities;
improve student learning across the humanities and other disciplines by helping schools integrate their curricula through the arts;
address the special needs of underserved and disadvantaged students that are not being effectively addressed by other methods; and
effect positive change within schools, such as increased attendance rates; opportunities to demonstrate and evaluate student learning in a greater variety of ways; teacher, curricular, and school renewal and improvement; and teachers' expanded perceptions of students' abilities.

SAIL Outcomes - Strategies that support a statewide system of arts integration

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

I. Build knowledge and practice

Develop best practice guidelines for arts integration
Design and run summer training and leadership institutes
Establish interactive teaching and learning via technology

II. Support school improvement

Assist schools with needs assessment
Match school needs to model programs and practices
Assist schools with improvement goals by contracting with model programs for delivery of services
Build a network of schools who choose arts integration for school improvement efforts

III. Support arts and arts integration

Build a network of model arts programs
Provide a learning community for model arts programs
Act as a broker for model arts programs and schools
Provide a venue for building teacher expertise in arts integration
Develop leadership skills at the school-level to support arts integration
Build capacity through teacher training and leadership training

RESEARCH

I. Build a body of evidence regarding arts integration

Identify and synthesize the current body of evidence
Identify gaps in the current body of evidence
Construct research tools to capture the successes that are unidentified or under-identified
Survey schools to determine who, what, and how the arts disciplines and arts integration are implemented (baseline data)
Track standard measures of success for participating schools (arts as “value-added”)
Assist schools with data-driven decision-making efforts
Design and implement action research studies
Create longitudinal studies that capture student learning and successes over time

II. Use research to inform

Apply research results to best practice continuum
Apply research results to professional development objectives
Inform schools, parents, communities, state decision-makers of research results
Identify national trends and apply such trends to SAIL work

III. Publish research findings

Submit research to state journals for publication
Submit research to national journals for publication

KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION

I. Convergence of knowledge

Participate in state conferences where leaders converge
Gather knowledge and ideas related to SAIL
Apply knowledge to SAIL
Invite key decision makers into SAIL

II. Emergence of new knowledge

Identify the emergence of new knowledge and national trends and apply such trends to SAIL
Participate in regional and national conferences
Establish SAIL as a state, regional, and national base for arts and arts integration

III. Disseminate knowledge and information

Maintain a website link for SAIL
Provide state, regional, and national leadership
Connect with other agencies and non-profits that support SAIL concepts and operations
Educate the public to understand the effects art has on education
Embrace students as powerful messengers
Use data collected by research to promote and support arts education and arts integration
Develop publications for distribution to decision-makers and others

Last Updated: 12/7/09