National PTA believes that all students deserve the opportunity to take part in high-quality arts programming. Through the National PTA School of Excellence program, PTAs can support this effort by making a commitment to enhancing and improving arts education access and programming in their school and community.
National PTA’s Schools of Excellence have a history supporting the arts in their school communities, with the 2022-2024 Schools of Excellence making their own mark on this important work.
Eden Gardens Magnet Elementary, Louisiana
Using the School of Excellence program to identify opportunities for continued development, the Eden Gardens PTA School of Excellence Team focused their Excellence Action plan on ways to reignite the National PTA’s Reflections program in their school, driving inclusivity in arts education and supporting student talent. With a new focus on improved program promotion, the PTA used various communication methods, including social media, newsletters, and flyers, to promote the program.
Standing out as best practice in their work, Eden Gardens PTA focused on an alignment between Reflections and an existing student leadership development program to gain school support. Recognizing implicit connections between the programs, the Excellence Team used their improved communication strategies to explain the common goal of helping students and families achieve student success in all areas of their lives.
The PTA used Reflections to elevate the creativity of Eden Gardens students, celebrating and recognizing their artistic talent. This gave students positive reinforcement that their artistic talents are essential to their growth and development into future leaders.
Eden Gardens PTA hopes to continue intertwining Reflections into the school’s academic programming and noted that the School of Excellence program offered a great a way to structure and advance the PTA’s goal of recognizing student creativity as one of their many strengths.
Bransford Elementary School PTA, Texas
To advance and support the arts in their community, Bransford Elementary PTA focused on enhancing family-driven arts programing and opportunities for students in every grade level. By supporting campus-wide arts initiatives, the Bransford Elementary PTA efforts would reach as many students as possible.
Bransford Elementary PTA’s Reflections program was highly successful and had a wide reach in their community. The PTA received 15 Reflections submissions, seven of which were recognized at the district level, and three went to the state competition! From across the district, their elementary campus had the most submissions recognized at the state-level showcase. The PTA also supported school-based arts programming, like the Orff Ensemble, which went on to be one of only two elementary schools to perform at the state-level music convention.
Additionally, Bransford Elementary PTA supported the schoolwide musical, with the Excellence Team pointing to the musical as part of their arts integration programming. The musical, which was open to every child, boasted 182 participants, which is nearly half of their student population. With so many ways to be involved in the musical, the PTA encouraged family engagement. From building sets, sewing costumes, volunteering time or donating financial resources, the musical programming brought together families who were all willing to contribute towards building students’ artistic success.
Recognizing the impact their focus on arts integration has had on family engagement and student success, the PTA intends to continue their work on promoting and supporting the arts, utilizing the $48,000 they raise through fundraisers to continue arts integration into the school’s curriculum. Ultimately, Bransford Elementary PTA is confident that their investment in enhancing and funding the arts will serve to build even more comprehensive arts programs for the students in their community.
Desert Willow Elementary School, Arizona
The Desert Willow Elementary PTA collaborated closely with their administrator to support and enhance the arts through the PTA Reflections program. Along with hosting and promoting Reflections, the PTA coordinated supporting events and opportunities that further integrated the arts into their school and larger community.
The PTA worked with teachers to encourage their inclusion of Reflections art projects in their classrooms that focused on the program theme “Show Your Voice!” This increased student participation in Reflections. By making Reflections and the arts part of everyday school life, the PTA ensured that all students had the resources and time to create art and, most importantly, have their creations celebrated and exhibited through their PTA Reflections Night Celebration.
The Reflections Celebration had further benefits of enhancing the PTA’s community partnerships and relationships. The event was highly musical, with performances from a local high school jazz band and a local symphony. The most highly praised musical component was a “musical instrument petting zoo” where a locally owned music store allowed students to try out different instruments. The “petting zoo” had a line from the beginning to the end of the event!
The celebration also fostered family engagement with an emphasis on bringing the arts to school and back home. Through a collaborative art project, students and families created a peace sign display that hung in the school cafeteria for many weeks as a reminder of the event and its impact on the community. To further the family engagement at home, students were given art kits that included supplies for additional art projects, as well as a musical shaker to experiment with rhythm and music.
By the end of the school year, Desert Willow Elementary PTA saw an increase in positive responses to the School of Excellence program survey, and they credit the outcomes to their highly impactful arts programming. The results highlighted how the arts integration programming increased the PTA’s role as a central figure in their community and as a partner to local community groups and businesses. The PTA emphasized this greater sense of community as one of the most valuable takeaways and plans to continue their focus on the arts.
Moving forward, the PTA intends to explore ways to solve transportation issues for after school music clubs, continue with the Reflections program for a second year, fix the school’s broken kiln and look into scholarships for after school drama and art programs.
Advancing in the Arts in Your Community
These spotlights are only a fraction of the immense work accomplished by Schools of Excellence and their investment in the arts. If you’re interested in advancing the arts in your community, check out all the available resources from National PTA at PTA.org/ArtsEd. Then, take it up a notch by getting your own PTA involved with the School of Excellence program! You can use your ideas and passion for the arts, as well as National PTA programs like PTA Reflections, to achieve the designation and gain recognition for the work your PTA does to bring the arts to your school! Local PTAs can enroll at PTA.org/Excellence until October 15.
