TEACHERS AT SIX LOS ANGELES-AREA HIGH SCHOOLS are integrating arts teaching and learning into the academic core of their high schools' curriculum via a unique project funded by the Getty Institute for Education in the Arts.

“Art at the Center of the Secondary School Curriculum,” is striving to refine and establish a replicable curricular planning process for developing interdisciplinary thematic units based on art objects.

It is also integrating studio art, art history, criticism and aesthetics with the study of literature, humanities and world or American history. Other goals are to design and to develop model interdisciplinary, art-centered thematic units incorporating discipline-based art education and to develop and provide a professional development program that supports teachers in these areas.

As a result, 18 very high quality interdisciplinary thematic units have been developed and published by the participating teachers. The units have been taught or are currently being taught in their classrooms.

Now in its second year, the project has produced a complete tenth-grade language arts, world history and studio art curriculum currently being implemented at Cleveland High School in Los Angeles. In addition, 10 individual units for grades 10 and 11 are now being taught at Bell, Manual Arts, Palisades, Van Nuys and Venice high schools.

Cleveland High School teachers are working to refine their tenth-grade curriculum as they design a full eleventh-grade program. Teachers at the other five schools have selected one of their art-centered units for refinement and are editing the work in collaboration with Dr. Tony Barrett, professor of art education at Ohio State and advisor to the Getty Project.

“The program has served as an important resource for the growth and development of participating teachers,” said Barbara Golding, director of the Los Angeles Educational Partnership's Humanitas program. “These units are academically superb.”

Members of the project team have met on a regular basis to plan and develop materials and professional development activities. Participants have also had the opportunity to attend special activities focused on art-centered curriculum, such as a lecture by Jean Willete, professor of art history at the Claremont Graduate School; visits to the Ed Kienholtz exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art; and the William Burroughs Exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and participation in the Humanitas Summer Academy.