SmartARTS and TD Bank
In August 2016, TD Bank pledged $200,000 to establish the TD Center for Arts Integration in support of SmartARTS at MAC’s facility at 16 Augusta Street. This incredible level of support is a testament to the program’s continued viability and effectiveness. It continues a tradition of the phenomenal support that TD Bank has continuously provided throughout the Greenville arts community since its local founding in 1986.
This funding has allowed SmartARTS to train and mentor teachers who have implemented arts-integrated units throughout Greenville County, as well as expand the program to new schools. The funds also purchase all supplies and compensate the SmartARTS teaching artists working in the program. We are very appreciative of all TD Bank does for MAC, for the arts, and for the entire Greenville community. We look forward to working with TD Bank in the future to take SmartARTS to even greater heights.
What is SmartARTS?
Housed at the TD Center for Arts Integration, SmartARTS is a partnership between Greenville County Schools (GCS) and the Metropolitan Arts Council (MAC) that connects students, artists, and teachers to deeper learning and self-awareness through integrating the arts with all areas of education. Arts integration is the collaboration between the arts and other content areas resulting in a richer, more complete whole that fosters deep, connected, personal learning in both areas simultaneously.
SmartARTS and You
SmartARTS continually seeks funding because there are always new teachers entering the district and students to inspire. Each year SmartARTS receives requests from new teachers and schools to attend training and to implement this effective methodology. As funding for the arts in public schools continues to dwindle, it is imperative that SmartARTS continues to enhance academic achievement, while introducing underserved students to artistic expression. Excellent arts integration programming is dependent upon support from the Greenville community.
SmartARTS is a long-term investment; it is a break-the-cycle investment. Experiencing the arts in curriculum is powerful, especially for underserved students, and is an important key to their educational success. SmartARTS believes that all students need a place in education where they can succeed and where the learning is personal and memorable. SmartARTS achieves these goals.
Kimberly Simms Gibbs
Director of Arts Education
(864) 467-3132
[email protected]
History of SmartARTS
SmartARTS began in 2002 with three, five-year federal grants from the U.S. Department of Education totaling $2.1 million. The program focused on integrating the arts into all grade levels at one Title I middle school and one Title I elementary school. One of the grants focused on the annual training of teachers and artists to partner in the classroom using arts integration techniques. The goals of this partnering are to better engage students and improve academic achievement in the core curricular areas of English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. As a result of these three grants, SmartARTS was able to build a solid foundation for its innovative work.