Edison School of the Arts is an Innovation Network school for the visual, performing, and digital arts and we fall under the IPS umbrella of schools. Edison serves the entire city of Indianapolis and some surrounding counties. Anyone can attend Edison and those that live within the IPS District will receive free transportation to and from school.
Edison is unique in the fact that our students are not only exposed to and participate in multiple arts genres, they also learn through the arts. All Edison teachers are trained through the Kennedy Center in Washington DC to teach using an approach called Arts Integration. Arts Integration allows students to engage in a creative process and use
their voice, body, imagination, concentration and cooperation to connect an art form to a specific subject matter. Arts integration also allows students to demonstrate their understanding of the material through an art form. This methodology allows students to experience a deeper understanding of the core curriculum.
Many students do not test well using the typical paper and pencil assessments. Using the Arts Integration approach, students can prove what they know by illustrating, moving, acting or singing the answer. When students are up and moving, they are more engaged. In circumstances where behavior may be an issue, we find Arts Integration encourages confidence and healthy risk taking. It helps kids recognize new skills in themselves and ultimately keeps kids in class and out of detention. We see increased focus, cooperation and community. Kids are interested and want to be a part of the lesson.
The entire Edison team is committed to growing their mastery of Arts Integration by attending weekly scheduled, robust professional development. Teaching artists from the Kennedy Center are also intensely involved in curriculum development and writing lesson plans.
Edison scores have shown improvement across the board and especially with African American boys.