Building Staff Community in Art Education: Four Key Groups
An article from The Art of Education, released in August 2026, outlines methods for art educators to build a cohesive staff community through four key groups: administration, teachers and support staff, social committees, and small interest groups. It recommends involving administrators during planning sessions, showcasing National Core Arts Standards, converting student artwork into data, and supplying materials for art discussions. For teachers and support staff, it advises informal chats, monthly lunches, and inviting peers to serve as guest judges. Social committees can host potlucks and events, while smaller interest groups may concentrate on mutual interests. The article highlights that nurturing strong communities demands effort to connect, rather than always needing to get along, and provides links to further resources.
Key facts
- The article was published on The Art of Education in August 2026.
- It focuses on four groups: administration, teachers and support staff, social committees, and small groups.
- Suggestions for administrators include inviting them to planning periods, displaying standards, translating work into data, and providing handouts.
- For teachers, it suggests casual chit-chat, monthly lunches, sitting with new people, leadership roles, and guest judges.
- Social committees can organize potlucks, dress-up days, gift exchanges, scavenger hunts, and bingo.
- Small groups can be formed around shared interests like reading, walking, running, crafting, gaming, or volunteering.
- The article links to additional resources on difficult colleagues, talking about art, staff portraits, and painting staff bathrooms.
- It encourages joining The Art of Ed Community for further discussion.
Entities
Institutions
- The Art of Education
- The Art of Ed Community