Artists in Schools

The Arts and Cultural Alliance supports and promotes Teaching Artists so that they can share their expertise and skills with students in the Sarasota County Schools.

Approved teaching artists share their Explorations – aligned with Florida standards – through the school district’s public website, EdExploreSRQ.com. Operating as individual vendors in the schools, teaching artists are evaluated by teachers, students and the Alliance.

The schools have resources to pay for the Explorations including school budgets, PTA/PTO, and grant options from multiple foundations. An added benefit: once artists are certified, the Alliance can recommend them to other local and state organizations as well as private and public schools in neighboring counties.

Teaching Artist Certification
Each teaching artist that completes the Alliance’s certification course (10 plus hours), and satisfactorily completes the required documents for EdExploreSRQ, will become a part of EdExploreSRQ and be a certified teaching artist for the Arts and Cultural Alliance.

Artists in the Libraries provides an opportunity for teaching artists to share their expertise in sessions at the eight library sites in Sarasota County with learners of all ages.

In this program, Arts Alliance-approved teaching artists are hired by various library sites and provide stimulating activities for a period of 2-3 months in the libraries. The program is facilitated by the Arts and Cultural Alliance and funded by the Sarasota County Library Foundation.