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Fine Arts

children playing violin

Director of Art

Suzanne Fee

Email:
sfee@medford.k12.ma.us

Students will develop artistic literacy through active participation in the arts, expressing creative ideas with skill, confidence, and artistic intent. A high-quality arts education empowers students to take artistic risks and supports the social-emotional and learning needs of all students. Through practices related to creating, presenting or performing, responding, and connecting, students will understand the role of the arts in their individual lives and interests.

While recognizing the intrinsic value of the arts, students will also discover the meaningful connections between the arts and other disciplines, and how the arts contribute to their communities and cultures around the world. As art students respond to great artists and works of art, they develop the ability to analyze artworks in terms of their formal qualities, historic style, social context, and artistic intent. The practice of responding to works of art builds perceptive acuity and aesthetic sensitivity. A rigorous progression of learning and engagement with the arts throughout Pre-K–12 education is the foundation for a rich, lifelong relationship with the arts. (MA DESE 2019 Fine Arts Framework)

Guiding Principle

Guiding Principle 1 : An effective arts education enables students to become artistically literate.

Guiding Principle 2: An effective arts education develops students’ understanding of the concept of artistic intent.

Guiding Principle 3: An effective arts education fosters a coherent and rigorous progression of learning.

Guiding Principle 4: An effective arts education is relevant to students’ interests.

Guiding Principle 5: An effective arts education provides students with broad and frequent access to great works of art from the past and present, across genres, time periods, and styles, and represents diverse cultures in the United States and from around the world in order to develop an appreciation for the richness of artistic expression, understand the connections between art and history, and cultivate one’s own sense of beauty.

Guiding Principle 6: In effective arts education programs, students have the opportunity to experience different artistic roles, groupings, and uses of media.

Guiding Principle 7: An effective arts education makes connections with other disciplines and bodies of knowledge.

Guiding Principle 8: An effective arts education promotes family and community engagement.

Guiding Principle 9: An effective arts education supports social and emotional growth.

Guiding Principle 10: An effective arts education program is inclusive; all students participate and benefit.

Curriculum Overview