Teaching through the arts cultivates creativity, confidence and critical thinking skills.
The Laird Norton Family Foundation is committed to increasing arts education and improving PreK-12 student learning through the arts. Our vision is to transform children's lives and enhance their learning through arts education. We support quality arts instruction in the classroom as pathway to our larger goal: helping PreK-12 public schools develop arts-infused curricula and using the arts as a tool to teach other subjects.
We focus our Arts in Education grantmaking in three areas:
We award Arts in Education grants primarily in the Puget Sound region, as well as in communities where Laird Norton family members live and work.
We focus our Arts in Education grantmaking in three areas:
- Arts education and arts-infused curricula in public school classrooms
- Organizations working to address systemic challenges and improve the state of education through the arts
- Out-of-school programs that closely collaborate with PreK-12 public schools
We award Arts in Education grants primarily in the Puget Sound region, as well as in communities where Laird Norton family members live and work.
2012 Arts in Education Grants
- Adams Elementary School (WA)
$30,000 In support of arts integration efforts. Adams Elementary is in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle and is a leader in the Seattle Public Schools system in using arts to advance learning across all subject areas. They serve more than 500 students in grades K-5. - Arts Corps (WA)
$35,000 General operating support. Arts Corps’ mission is to provide quality arts education programs to children who would not ordinarily have those opportunities. Arts Corps serves more than 2,000 children and youth at 40 sites throughout the greater Seattle community. - Arts for the Schools (CA)
$25,000 In support of the Artists in Residence program providing interactive performing arts education in the Truckee Tahoe Unified School District. Through this program, Arts for the Schools provides arts education to more than 850 students in grades 3-5 and for at-risk high school students. - Arts Impact (Puget Sound Educational Service District) (WA)
$35,000 General operating support. Arts Impact provides two-year teacher training programs that give teachers the skills they need to infuse arts into their curricula. - Elements of Education Partners (WA)
$25,000 In support of the Adjunct Artist/Instructor program at Elements of Education schools in the Tacoma Public School district. This program is a unique arts education opportunity that links students at Tacoma Public Schools with local artists, designers, and community members who come in to the school as instructors for a semester or more, increasing students’ exposure to high quality artists and helping to ensure working artists are able to stay in the community. - Folwell School(MN)
$17,000 In support of the Band Program, pairing beginning band students with music education apprentice teachers from the University of Minnesota under the guidance of University and Folwell faculty. Folwell is a public K-8 fine arts magnet school in the Minneapolis Public School district. - Museum of Children's Art (CA)
$20,000 In support of the Little Artists program which provides drop-in arts learning activities at the museum and weekly art lessons and teacher training in Oakland Unified School District Child Development centers. - Rosemary Anderson High School (OR)
$10,000 In support of Arts Thursday, in which the entire school's curriculum is focused on a specific genre of art. RAHS is a program of the Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center, which works to reconnect alienated at-risk youth affected by poverty, family instability and homelessness with high school education, career training, and mentorship. - WA Alliance for Arts Education (ArtsEd Washington) (WA)
$50,000 General operating support. ArtsEd's mission is to advance arts education through leadership, partnership, and communication. - Winona Area Public Schools (MN)
$20,000 In support of the artist-in-residence program which includes visual and performing arts residencies and professional development for teachers at K-12 public schools throughout the Winona school district. - Yelm Community Schools (WA)
$25,000 In support of the iCreate Arts in Education program which provides greater access to the arts through collaborations between classroom teachers and professional artists in 10 schools. iCreate reaches more than 5,600 students grades K-12 in the Yelm school district each year.
