Exemplary Project

Abingdon’s program provides each student personalized instruction throughout their day in a collaborative teaching model.  We have developed a partnership with The John F. Kennedy Center’s CETA Program (Changing Education Through the Arts). This partnership provides our staff with professional development activities in arts integration. It also provides our students with the opportunity to attend fine arts events as well as work with visiting Teaching Artists within their classrooms.

Abingdon Elementary is proud to have been selected as one of six schools in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to be one of the Kennedy Center’s Changing Education Through the Arts (CETA) Demonstration Schools. Our school’s partnership with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which began in 2006, helps teachers develop their expertise in integrating the arts with the teaching of other school subjects (such as history, language arts, science). This focus on arts-integrated instruction is designed to help all students learn with greater motivation and ease. To that end, the Kennedy Center and the schools work together to develop, implement, and evaluate an in-depth staff development program of courses, workshops, and coaching. To learn more, please visit the Kennedy Center’s CETA program website at https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/networks-conferences-and-research/networks-and-strategic-leadership/ceta-schools/ 

The CETA program uses a comprehensive definition of arts integration as its foundation. This definition helps teachers, administrators, and teaching artists know exactly what arts integration is and how it differs from teaching the arts or just using the arts in the classroom. Our partnership with the Kennedy Center greatly benefits both staff and students. Teachers take courses from nationally renowned teaching artists to develop expertise integrating various art forms. The arts-integrated strategies help to engage students, deepen their learning, and improve retention of information. Through our partnership, students are also able to take field trips to view performances at the Kennedy Center.