By: Thomas Goldberg/History Teacher

Staff members at Ocean Academy once again had the opportunity to go to Princeton University for a conference sponsored by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation focusing on infusing arts into all subject areas.  Mr. Corbett, Mr. Goldberg, Ms. LaRosa, Ms. Catalano, Mr. Austin, and Mr. Hayden were all on the guest list.  This is the third year Ocean Academy has participated in this conference, allowing us the chance to learn from experts in their fields about the advantages of allowing students to become a part of the learning process through art.  Through arts infusion, students are able to think critically about the content they have learned and express that content artistically in ways that make sense to them.  Everyone acquired some new strategies for incorporating arts in the classroom that we cannot wait to share with the both the staff and students.

This year, Mr Corbett, Ms. Catalano, and Mr. Hayden were lucky enough to host their own seminar showcasing Ocean Academy’s journey of infusing the arts into our program.  We were able to share some examples of how to incorporate the arts into a school’s curriculum, the benefits of utilizing co-teaching with an art teacher in general education classes, the importance of collaborating with the community, and the positive impact these things have had on the lives of our students and school climate.  It was a wonderful seminar, and we hope that those who attended were able to gain the confidence to try some techniques in their own schools.