FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE         

 

 

MARYGROVE ESTABLISHES INSTITUTE FOR ARTS-INFUSED EDUCATION,

APPOINTS MARY LOU GREENE AS DIRECTOR

 

DETROIT, MI, FEBRUARY 15, 2006—Marygrove College announces the formation of The Institute for Arts-Infused Education and the appointment of Mary Lou Greene as its director.

 

Through a three-year grant of $700,000 by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the 3M Foundation, Marygrove established the Institute for Arts-Infused Education to improve learning by kindergarten through 12th grade students.

 

The Institute uses the arts to teach the core curriculum, helping to ensure student success.  Other purposes for the Institute include creating innovative models for teaching the core curriculum and creating educational-system change by promoting the systemic integration of the arts into the K through 12 core curriculum.

 

This is not the teaching of art, said Mary Lou Greene, Institute director.  “It’s using art to teach other subjects.  It’s a new methodology wherein teachers use all the visual arts, technology, drama, music and movement to teach reading.

 

“The Institute for Arts-Infused Education will position Marygrove as a national leader in this new use of the arts to teach language arts and reading,” she said.

 

The Knight Foundation grant is specifically awarded for Language Arts and Literacy.  The Institute will begin with 3rd grade in 2006 and advance to 4th and 5th grades in 2007 and 2008, respectively, in Detroit Public Schools.

 

Children become actively involved in learning.  Artists in the community work with the classroom teachers.  They meet prior to the class to focus the lesson plan; then they team teach using art.

 

Specifically, the Institute will:

  • Deliver through partnerships with three community arts organizations, Learning Via Arts, El Arte Alliance and ACE Detroit, collaborative arts-infused instruction in Detroit Public Schools
  • Design, implement and disseminate innovative arts-infused curricula
  • Train teachers and artist in the collaborative use of arts to teach the core curriculum
  • Create and disseminate appropriate assessment tools and evaluation of arts-infused education
  • Contribute to national and international research on the effectiveness of the arts-infused model.

 

Mary Lou Greene comes to Marygrove with over 20 years’ experience as an arts administrator, most recently from El Arte Alliance, a coalition of teachers, artists and arts organizations providing arts-infused education in Southwest Detroit public schools.  Previously, she was program coordinator at The Dance Center of Columbia College, Chicago, presenter of internationally-acclaimed modern dance artists.  She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking from The Ohio State University and has received many awards, grants and scholarships.  She continues to produce and exhibit her own artwork, primarily found-object sculpture.

 

Marygrove College is a private liberal arts college located at 8425 W. McNichols Rd. in Detroit.  More than 1,200 students attend classes in its undergraduate and graduate programs in education, business, human resource management, social justice, social work, science, theater, music, the fine arts and many others.  Call 866-313-1927 or visit www.marygrove.edu.

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