Designing a Learning Community: A Handbook for K-12 Professional Development Planners

Synthesizing extensive research of arts education practice across the United States, this handbook is a guide to designing arts education professional development for K-12 classroom teachers and provides a searchable database of 50 arts learning communities.  Explore this interactive resource online or click here to download the full handbook.

How to Begin
Start by orienting yourself. What is an arts learning community? What are the Big Ideas guiding the field?

Assess Your Need  
Take a moment to reflect. Inquiry is at the heart of professional development. Where are you and your teachers now? Where do you want to take arts education in your schools?

Explore the Handbook
Read the guide to find which chapters will serve your professional development goals and circumstances. Then explore, reading some chapters and browsing others. Take detours into the recommended tools, bibliographic sources, or model programs.

Search the Models
Go deeper to explore how the characteristics, structures, findings and lessons from existing arts learning communities inform your professional development practice.

	A Project Of: Los Angeles County Arts Commission San Francisco Arts Commission and Santa Clara County Office of Education To Learn More: Project Background Bibliography					Research and Writing By: Dawn M. Ellis Edited By:  Linda Chiavaroli, Dir.of Communications,  Los Angeles County Arts Commission