University of Pennsylvania Center for Community Partnerships Integrated Pluralistic Arts Education Program

Welcome to the Integrated Pluralistic Arts Education website! We have been working to build a strong network of people and organizations committed to collaborative effort, educational enhancement, sustainable programming, and public support—all in the area of integrated pluralistic arts education. During the course of the spring and summer, we have been building relationships with individual teachers, teaching teams, school administrators, university professors, local artists and community organizations. Through these partnerships, we have supported professional development workshops for teachers, artist-teacher collaborations, and gatherings aimed at both recognizing current efforts and planning for future programs.

The Ford Foundation is funding IPA as a University of Pennsylvania Center for Community Partnerships planning program. The Ford Foundation is committed to the belief that the integration of arts education into school practice will significantly improve the outcomes and opportunities for large numbers of urban public school students and, as a result, will also broaden prevailing conceptions about educational excellence in public schools so that the arts will be viewed as an essential part of schooling.

We are grateful to the Ford Foundation and to the many teachers, artists, engaged community members, and colleagues here at CCP and the University of Pennsylvania. We have gotten off to an encouraging start and anticipate an exciting year.

If you would like to get involved with IPA or simply learn more about our projects and programs, please contact the IPA program director:

Jacqui Sadashige, Ph.D. Director, Integrated Pluralistic Arts Education Phone 215-573-4751/ Fax 215-573-2799 sadashig@sas.upenn.edu