Washington State Teaching Artist Training Lab

🔎 Having ‘arts’ in schools doesn’t necessarily mean students have access to every art form...

A statewide Washington survey found big differences across disciplines: music and visual arts were much more widely available than media arts, theatre, and dance. 3% of responding schools reported having no arts instruction.

📊 The survey covers 277 responding schools, so it’s a snapshot, not the whole picture. Still, it raises interesting questions about what we mean when we talk about ‘arts access’ and how teaching artists and community arts organizations help fill these gaps.

📚 Source: Arts for All; 2025 State of the Arts Education Survey
https://arts4allwa.squarespace.com/2025-survey-results

TAT Lab's Why Arts Learning Matters series shares research, resources, and ideas that help teaching artists and arts educators understand and talk about the impact of our work.

Seattle-region TAs, check out this October 9 workshop from Arts Impact (with 🕦 Hours):

Neuro Arts: Growing Your Brain through Arts
Neuro Arts is a growing field of research that focuses on ways the arts literally change the biology and functioning of our minds. Discover the exciting new data and experience the impact of multi-sensory artistic experiences on the creation of new neural pathways and the growth of brain density and plasticity. Learn how to apply these practices in your classroom to deepen learning, healing and sense of the self.

Up to 3 Clock, Equity & SEL Hours. Participants pay for claiming Clock Hours and will receive a $20 gift card upon completion.

Psst... If you think you might want to register for the Neuro Arts Workshop and grab some Clock Hours next Friday 10/9, do it soon! Everyone who registers by next Monday, 10/5 will receive a free art kit for your classroom! Register at https://bit.ly/4xGgIaB

Things are getting real! 👀
A whole lot of TAT Lab Core binders are prepped and ready for the incoming 2026-27 cohort!

We can't wait to get started!

Seattle-area educators:

Educators, join us at the Seattle Asian Art Museum on your Washington State In-Service Day to learn and create with your fellow peers! Learn more about The Kondō Family: Storytellers in Clay, experiment with clay, and share time with other educators. If registration is sold out, please email [email protected] to sign up for the waitlist.

Artists, students, parents, school staff, and community leaders, this event is for you. ALL of you!

Strong arts scenes start with students who learn to love art and envision themselves engaging in local arts as an adult. So we're strengthening the connections between arts in our schools and arts in our communities!

Come together on October 9th for great conversations, fresh inspiration, new resources, and light refreshments in a relaxed, creative atmosphere!

RSVP here for the local address or video link! https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/IzvmZodKSEKPwBjo6OZYBA?t=1790285974

📣 Last call! Community of Practice is tomorrow!

Join teaching artists and arts/cultural educators from across Washington State for an hour of conversation, questions, ideas and peer support.

📅 Wednesday, September 23, 4-5pm
Zoom/online | Free
Register: https://tinyurl.com/FY27CoPSept22

💬 Bring a question – or simply come to build community and share your thoughts with others!

📷 Text on graphic reads: Last call for TAT Lab Community of Practice. Wednesday, September 23, 4-5pm. Online and free. Register now.

Washington State Teaching Artist Training Lab

🧰 TEACHING ARTIST RESOURCE | Arts Integration and Early Learning

Washington State Arts Commission’s Creative Start Studio offers an introduction to arts integration, video lessons, and downloadable lesson plans for a variety of arts integration topics for young learners. Lessons cover multiple creative disciplines and subject areas. You’ll even see quite a few TAT Lab alumni and faculty leading lessons throughout the series!

❗Creative Start Studio also includes resources for designing your own lesson plans, as well as guides to creating your own video tutorials with your mobile phone.

👉 ArtsWA's Creative Start is a Washington State program that supports arts integration for young learners from preschool through grade 3.

Explore Creative Start Studio at ArtsWA: https://www.arts.wa.gov/creative-start-studio/

⚒️ TAT Lab’s Teaching Artist Resources series shares tools, ideas, and learning opportunities to support teaching artists in their practice. Find our archive here: https://tatlaboutreach.wixsite.com/tatlab/teachingartistresources

📷 Image ID: Teaching Artist Resources: Arts Integration. ArtsWA’s resources for early learning educators, teaching artists, families, and caregivers. Screenshot of Creative Start Studio showing video lessons in dance and literary arts.

📣 Last call! Community of Practice is this week!
Join teaching artists and arts/cultural educators from across Washington State for an hour of conversation, questions, ideas and peer support.

📅 Wednesday, September 23, 4-5pm
🌐 Zoom/online | Free
👉🏽 Register: https://tinyurl.com/FY27CoPSept23

💬 Bring a question – or simply come to build community and share your thoughts with others!

📷 Text on graphic reads: Last call! TAT Lab Community of Practice. Wednesday, September 23, 4-5pm. Online and free. Register now.

📣 Interested in learning more about arts education policy, research, and advocacy?

For National Arts in Education Week, the Arts for All Coalition has pulled together some resources for learning more about what's happening in our state and across the country.

We're sharing their list here for teaching artists who want to dig deeper into the policies that shape arts education.

👉🏽Learn about Arts Education policy across the nation: https://www.aep-arts.org/artscan/

👉🏽Check out Arts Education tools and resources from Americans for the Arts: https://www.americansforthearts.org/events/national-arts-in-education-week

👉🏽Read about WA State Arts Education Policy and Research: https://www.artsforallwashington.org/resources

The Arts for All (A4A) Coalition is Washington’s coalition working for equitable access to arts education for all students across the state. TAT Lab is proud to have several of our team members in the A4A Coalition. Learn more: https://www.artsforallwashington.org

📷 Image ID: Youth stand together at a table full of tools. The youth closest to the camera holds a device up to their eyes to read the card attached to one end. FY25 ArtsWA grantee, Eastern Washington Historical Society, Photo by Lindsey Newton. Banner below image: Learn about Washington’s Arts for All Coalition ArtsForAllWashington.org. National Arts Education Week.

💬 What’s a current teaching artist challenge you’d love to talk through with peers?

Bring it to Community of Practice! These sessions are shaped by the questions and experiences participants bring to the conversation, guided by TAT Lab faculty.

📅 Wednesday, September 23, 4-5pm
🌐 Zoom/online | Free
👉🏽 Register: https://tinyurl.com/FY27CoPSept23

Conversations might explore lesson plan design, classroom management, building partnerships with your community, culturally responsive and inclusive teaching, and more.

Open to teaching artists and arts/cultural educators in ALL creative disciplines across Washington State.

📷 Text on graphic reads: TAT Lab Community of Practice. Bring your questions! What’s a current teaching artist challenge you’d love to talk through with peers? Join us September 23, 4-5pm.