The Fitchburg Public Schools believes that an education without the arts is an incomplete education. The arts are vehicles for imaginative learning, artistic expression and cultural appreciation. In dance, visual art, music and theatre, children express ideas and emotions they cannot express in language alone. The arts enrich the curriculum by presenting varied ways of understanding and opportunities for in-depth study.

An effective arts curriculum…

• Provides a sequential program of instruction in music, visual arts, dance and theatre beginning in kindergarten and continuing through high school.
• Emphasizes the development of students’ skills through creating, performing, and responding.
• Promotes knowledge and understanding of the historical and cultural contexts of the arts.
• Utilizes a variety of assessment methods to evaluate student progress based on the learning standards outlined in the Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework.
• Provides opportunities for students to make connections among the arts, with other disciplines within the core curriculum, and with arts resources in the community.
• Implements best teaching practices that increase literacy and critical thinking skills within a cooperative and inquiry based learning setting.