School Programs

Arts Link is MIC’s distinctive outreach program, serving over 6,500 students per year in Chicago and suburban schools as well as community programs through:

• Professional Development Workshops
• School Partnership Programs
• Community Engagement Programs
• Ensembles-In-Residence

MIC’s Arts Link program features:

• A proven design. The Arts Link program has been working with teachers, schools, and communities since 1992.
• A highly qualified faculty. Arts Link programs are created and taught by experienced educators utilizing the best practices in arts education. Arts Link teaching artists have advanced degrees in the arts as well as significant classroom teaching experience.
• A comprehensive fine arts curriculum. Arts Link programs focus on skill development in each of the arts modalities: music, drama, dance/movement, and visual art while providing opportunities for collaborative learning and social development.
• An innovative framework. Arts Link programs cultivate connections between the arts and other subjects such as science, language arts, and social sciences through activities that integrate the arts with traditional subject areas.

Professional Development

MIC's Arts Link program offers innovative and engaging professional development workshops throughout the school year. MIC's professional development workshops focus on the methods and materials of arts integration as well as development of creative processes.

MIC is an approved provider of Illinois State Board of Education re-certification credit; graduate credit is available through Carthage College.

The Twenty-First Century Arts Integration workshop focuses on the fundamentals of arts integration. Participants discuss models of arts integration while exploring creative processes in sample arts integration activities.

The Curriculum Connections workshops focus on a variety of themes. Curriculum Connections workshops are held before MIC concerts in Nichols Hall and the Dempster Street Theatre. Participants in these workshops explore methods and materials for arts integration that before attending a live performance.

The Cultivating Creativity workshops provide classroom teachers with the opportunity to develop arts processes in music, drama, dance, and visual art. Participants in these workshops explore methods and materials while taking part in the creative process.

School Partnership Programs

The main goals of Arts Link School Partnerships programs are to:

• Educate students through innovative curriculum design
• Enrich student learning through hands-on activities that connect the arts to the world around them
• Excite student creativity by engaging with the materials of the arts
• Engage students through collaborative work and socialization opportunities

Residency Programs

MIC’s Arts Link program partners with schools in our unique residency programs. Through our mentoring and arts-delivery programs, MIC’s Arts Link program aims to develop pedagogical skills of teachers while providing hands-on arts experiences to students.

Making a Scene

Students take center stage in a musical of their own creating in this dynamic classroom musical project. Stories come to life as the Arts Link teaching artists work with students to create a musical based on classic children’s literature.

Brass for Beginners: Samba School

Have your musical passport ready! Students will explore the music and culture of Brazilian Samba and  Carnival in this high-energy program!

Smash-Up!

In our popular “SmashUP!” classes, Acting, Dance, Art, and Storytelling are "smashed up” into an original musical created by the students! Perfect for students interested in the fundamentals of creating and performing, or for kids with an interest in the arts who just want to have a good time.