How LAA+ Works
Below are the six stages to becoming a Louisiana A+ School. For more information, please contact us.
Stage 1: Inform
Any Louisiana School (public, private, charter, elementary, middle, or high school) is invited to complete a Letter of Interest form to join the LAA+ network.
Once the Letter of Interest form has been submitted, the school's faculty and administration will have the option to either schedule a meeting between LAA+ staff and the leaders of the interested school, or have the school complete the first module, Arts Integration 101, in our online learning platform, A+U: Louisiana. This module will provide them with an in-depth look at A+, including the history, why we do what we do, and a brief introduction to arts integration.
Stage 2: Apply
Once the school's faculty and staff have all been properly informed about our organization and what we provide (Step 1), they must then hold an in-house vote to ensure that a minimum of 85% or more of their full-time faculty is committed to adopting arts integration and implementing A+. This includes all classroom and ancillary teachers.
With a completed vote of 85% agreeing to adopt arts integration, the school will complete and submit the application to become a member of the A+ network.
Stage 3: Selection Process
School applications are reviewed by a selection committee comprised of LAA+ staff and Fellows. Several factors are used to determine selection including need, the school's capacity to fully implement the program, and funding.
Once a school has been accepted into the network, LAA+ Staff will visit the school either in-person or virtually, to share more information about program participation and expectations, as well as gather important thoughts and insight from the school's staff/administration.
New schools are notified in the Spring and begin their LAA+ journey with a 5-day Summer Institute for their entire school faculty.
Stage 4: Ongoing Professional Development
Member schools will receive 3 years of evolving professional development in the implementation and integration of the Arts. These coaching sessions are customized by the A+ Fellows to meet the current needs of the school.
During the 5-day initial summer institute, either virtually or hybrid, A+ Fellows will instruct schools on how to effectively integrate the Arts into their curriculum by way of the eight A+ Essentials.
At least 85% of a school's staff must attend the training in order to achieve whole school transformation.
Read testimonials from teachers participating in our professional development workshops by clicking the link below.
Step 5: School Implementation
After the first summer institute, member schools are functioning A+ Schools with access to the entire network of resources.
Schools collaborate around curriculum, mapping the instruction so that interdisciplinary concepts emerge that encourage cross-curricular integration, and the use of multiple intelligences to structure learning opportunities for students.
Schools are not considered fully implemented until having completed the three years of professional development training.
For more information on what implementation looks like for our schools, check out the School Implementation Breakdown below!
Stage 6: Sustainability and Continued Commitment
As long as a school is a member of the network with an active commitment to the A+ Essentials and teaching through the arts, they continue to receive annual leadership and new hire training either virtually or in-person.
Schools excelling in their commitment to the 8 Essentials may be nominated to become a Model School. LAA+ Model Schools are used to demonstrate effective implementation of the arts and are also provided additional opportunities for professional development.
School Implementation Break-Down
Click the + below to see a detailed breakdown of how we support and build resources necessary for sustainability and continuity of the arts in our schools. how we support our schools through their journey with the arts! After the first summer institute, member schools are functioning A+ Schools (year 1) with access to an entire network of resources that will continue to culminate as trainings continue. Schools are not considered fully implemented until having completed the three years of professional development training. Once a school has completed their third year of implementation, they are considered Alumni schools (year 4 and beyond). As long as a year 4+ school is a member of the network with an active commitment to the A+ Essentials and teaching through the arts, they continue to receive annual leadership and new hire training either virtually or in-person.
Year 1 schools are supported by Louisiana A+ Schools through:
- Whole school participation in a 5-day customized, in-person Summer Institute.
- Participation in New Teacher Orientation for all teachers hired after the Summer Institute
- Participation in School Leadership Retreat
- Ongoing professional development during the school year
- Individual School Google Site created for school, serving as a house for all LAA+ activities and resources.
- Art supply starter kit customized by the participating school.
- Access to first 6 modules in A+University.
- Module 1: Introduction to A+ Schools
- Module 2: Visual Arts 101
- Module 3: Theatre 101
- Module 4: Music 101
- Module 5: Dance 101
- Module 6: Multiple Learning Pathways 101
Year 2 schools are supported by Louisiana A+ Schools through:
- Whole school participation in a 3-day customized, in-person Summer Institute.
- Participation in New Teacher Orientation for all teachers hired after the Summer Institute
- Participation in School Leadership Retreat
- Ongoing professional development during the school year
- Teacher walkthroughs with individualized feedback for each teacher, including focus growth goals suggested by observer.
- Individual School Google Site updated and maintained by LAA+ Staff, serving as a house for all LAA+ activities and resources.
- Continued access to Modules 1-6 in A+University
- Access to 8 additional modules in A+ University
- Module 7: Arts
- Module 8: Curriculum
- Module 9: Experiential Learning
- Module 10: Enriched Assessment
- Module 11: Collaboration
- Module 12: Infrastructure
- Module 13: Climate
Year 3 schools are supported by Louisiana A+ Schools through:
- Whole school participation in a 2-day customized, in-person Summer Institute.
- Participation in New Teacher Orientation for all teachers hired after the Summer Institute
- Participation in School Leadership Retreat
- Ongoing professional development during the school year (1 day)
- Teacher walkthroughs with individualized feedback for each teacher, including focus growth goals suggested by observer.
- Individual School Google Site updated and maintained by LAA+ Staff, serving as a house for all LAA+ activities and resources.
- Continued access to Modules 1-13 in A+University
- Access to all 14 modules in A+University, along with additional, customized module(s)
created for your school.
- Module 14: Virtual Integration and Media Arts
- Additional customized module(s) created based on needs of school.
Year 4+ schools are supported by Louisiana A+ Schools through:
- Participation in New Teacher Orientation for all teachers hired after the Summer Institute
- Participation in School Leadership Retreat
- LAA+ Staff Check-ins
- Continued connections within the A+ Network.
- Continued access to all 14 modules in A+University, as well as additional, customized modules created for your school.
- Refresher professional development available upon request. Contact us for a full menu of services for schools in years 4 and above.
- Individual School Google Site continually updated and maintained by LAA+ Staff, serving as a house for all LAA+ activities and resources.
- Individual School Google Site access is shared with school administration and staff
to serve as an additional way for teachers to collaborate virtually.
- Once access is shared with school administration and permissions are given to teachers, this Google Site becomes a powerful tool that can serve as a virtual pathway for teachers to collaborate and share ideas.