for Schools
The VTS School Program is a school-wide, 3-year PD model and curriculum implementation for PreK-8 schools. Our model includes a mix of full-staff trainings, grade-level or content-area group debriefings, and classroom co-teaching sessions each year. Our professional development and curriculum model are sequential and developmentally-based to reflect students growth in critical thinking, language and art-viewing skills over time.
Contact us for more info on the VTS School Program.
Read more about the VTS School Program model here.
Regional Programs
If your school is in or near one of our core program areas, contact your local program director.
- Boston & New England
- New York City
- Northern California
- Pacific Northwest
- San Francisco Bay Area
Memorandum of Understanding (generic)
This MOU details a three-year collaboration between Jane Doe Elementary School and the Visual Thinking Strategies program. This collaboration has been established in order to ensure the successful implementation of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) in all Jane Doe Elementary School classrooms. The goal of our collaboration is to support teacher practice and develop visual literacy, critical thinking and communication skills in students and teachers, beginning with Jane Doe Elementary School.
Program Objectives:
The VTS curriculum is an aesthetic literacy and critical thinking curriculum for grades K-8. Classroom teachers will participate in the professional development critical for the successful implementation of the VTS curriculum, and learn the VTS techniques for facilitating student-centered discussions. Research has demonstrated that through VTS young people can achieve significant cognitive, linguistic and aesthetic growth.
Program Description:
The VTS Curriculum involves the implementation of 10 lessons for each grade level. For grades 3-5, nine of the lessons are taught by the classroom teacher in the classroom, the tenth lesson involves a museum visit where students can see original works of art in person. Each lesson is composed of two or three discussions of carefully selected works of art.
VTS includes a thirty-hour professional development program for teachers that takes place over three years. The initial teacher training is a seven-hour intensive workshop at the school or museum. Yearly professional development continues with three debriefings conducted on the school site by VTS trainers to improve teaching skills and support teacher?s aesthetic development. Trainers will also conduct one-on-one coaching sessions with individual teachers and an annual evaluation piece for each school.
VTS trainers will build the school?s capacity to lead coaching sessions by training peer-to-peer VTS coaches. Two or three teachers from every school will attend a Lead-Teacher Institute in the summer preceding implementation of the VTS program at the school. Those teachers will develop the skills to observe and provide feedback to their colleagues in their school.
VTS Program Administrator Responsibilities:
? Acquire all necessary equipment and materials required for the full implementation of VTS
? Provide all of the necessary teacher professional development, training, and debriefing sessions
? Coordinate relationships with collaborating museums
? Provide ongoing support to teachers and other school staff, museum visits and lesson scheduling
? Offer VTS Parent workshops for the school community
? Support the school?s fundraising efforts
? Enable access for students and teachers to the VTS website
VTS School Responsibilities:
? Assure the implementation of VTS in all classrooms
? Identify two or three teachers to be VTS peer-to-peer coaches who will attend the
? Lead-Teacher Institutes before and/or after the first year of implementation
? Reinforce teacher attendance and participation at training, coaching and debriefing sessions
? Maintain open communication with VTS regarding any issues relevant to VTS
? Provide supporting documentation, quotes and pictures for VTS fundraising efforts
? Identify and support a teacher VTS liaison to VTS Program Administrators
Program Cost:
? The VTS program cost is roughly $1,000/core classroom, depending on the size of the school. Cost includes materials, trainings, debriefing, on-going support and website access
? After the third year VTS costs are around $1,000 annually for website access and program support
? Debriefing and other in-person activities are charged per unit of service after 3 years
? VTS administrators will work with the school to identify grants and fundraising sources to cover both the school?s and VTS?s expenses
VTS Program Administrator:
Name
Title
Signature
Date
Participating School:
Name
Title
Principal
Signature
Date
Why do we ask that All Teachers participate?
VTS Program directors work hard to include as many teachers and staff as possible in every training because our research tells us the impact of VTS is best realized when all classroom teachers implement the curriculum and all staff participate in VTS PD. This inclusive model insures that every student in the school benefits from VTS and creates a forum for staff development and communication.
While VTS uses visual art as the core component of its curriculum, it is not an arts education program, per se. VTS is designed to developed aesthetic literacy, critical thinking and communication skills. Since these skills transcend traditional subject or instructional areas, VTS is an ideal tool for facilitating both student and teacher growth through shared learning experiences.
How do we reach All Students?
Extensive research and experience tell us that almost all students grow significantly when participating in at least two years of the VTS program.
-Students who didn't previously contribute start to speak up.
-Students who have previously lacked confidence begin to find their own voice.
-Students for whom English is not their primary language contribute and develop greater language skills faster. Even visual impaired students have engaged in and grown from experiences with VTS.
Check out some of our Major Findings to learn more.
Initial Staff Training
After initial planning by VTS Program Administrators with the school's teachers and administration, a VTS Trainer will lead a full-day training with all teachers and staff. VTS research has demonstrated that the most significant growth in teacher and student achievement is attained only when all teachers and staff have had VTS professional development.
VTS lessons are typically taught by classroom or "core subject" teachers, however, the portable and flexible nature of VTS teaching and thinking skills provide teachers and students the opportunity to apply the strategies and skills developed in VTS discussions of visual art to other subjects and situations throughout the school.
The initial staff training can take place on a designated school/district PD day; prior to the start of the school year; on a Saturday; across 2-3 days when time constraints require it. VTS National maintains an average of 1 Qualified VTS Trainer for every 10 participants at initial staff trainings.
The VTS program's pricing structure is based on the number of 'core' classrooms/teachers rather than the number of teachers participating in the PD events, so non-core staff can participate in the initial training and ongoing opportunities at no additional cost.
To Request a Proposal and budget please fill out this short online survey.
All teacher manuals, image sets, program packets and website registrations are included in the cost of the program and will be provided at the initial staff training. Those teachers who are implementing the VTS curriculum in their classrooms will leave the training ready to conduct their first lessons.
Teachers truly enjoy VTS trainings because they are relaxed but engaging and often remind them of the reasons why they became teachers in the first place.
Debriefings
The initial staff training is only the first step in the professional development program. As educators know, and research supports, a one-time training rarely makes a program sustainable or, more importantly, effective. Many teachers have been exposed to programs for one day, but without on-going professional development support the strength of an implementation can dissipate. Debriefings and one-on-one Coaching significantly strengthen teacher growth and improves the quality and sustainability of the VTS program over the short and long-term.
In addition to supporting implementation, Debriefings also:
-Highlight the subtle aspects of VTS that are not evident until a teacher actually uses VTS in the classroom
-Give teachers the opportunity to reflect on the challenges and successes of VTS in their classroom
-Build communication and develop shared values across school staff
-Develop deeper understanding of VTS research and how to self-assess the program
-Support teachers? own aesthetic growth
Debriefings are open to all staff and last 1-2 hours, typically after the regular school day, and are facilitated by a Qualified VTS Trainers in the first and second year and by in-school Lead Teachers in the third and subsequent years. These Debriefings are an opportunity for teachers to deepen their understanding of VTS, student thinking, or pose questions they have develop through the process of implementing VTS in their own classrooms. The group format allows teachers to share experiences and learn from their peers, fostering further staff development and supporting a successful implementation.
Ideally, school staff will participate in at least 3 debriefings per year (the 1st Debriefing follows the initial staff training and once teachers have conducted at least 1 lesson in their own classrooms; the 2nd Debriefing follows winter break; and the 3rd Debriefing would take place just prior to the museum visit).
Materials that support Debriefings and Coaching are available on the VTS Wiki Program Website and include agendas, reading materials, video demonstrations and more.
One-on-One Coaching
The third element of the VTS PD program is one-on-one Coaching. Coaching sessions are led by Lead Teachers or VTS trainers, depending on the implementation model and which year of the 3-year implementation the program is in. Taking place in individual teacher's classrooms, in most cases the coach will facilitate one image discussion with the classroom teacher observing, and classroom teachers will lead the rest of the discussions with the VTS Coach observing. After the lesson, the VTS Coach will provide feedback and pointers to individual teachers, supporting their VTS facilitation and listening skills.
Ideally, Coaching sessions will take place at least once a year in each classroom in which the curriculum is being implemented.
Planning & Administration
Each VTS school has their own dedicated VTS Program Director that will lead all communication and planning with school administrators and staff. Program Directors and VTS Trainers will work collaboratively with the school to design the best program design and professional development schedule possible given the constraints and opportunities of your school.
VTS Administrators will work with Program Directors to coordinate logistics for all trainings, insure the proper materials and resources are provide for each event, and work with school administrators to facilitate easy invoicing and payment procedures.
VTS staff can work with school staff to identify and secure funding when necessary, with VTS providing generic grant language and proposal materials for school staff to utilize in their effort to bring VTS to their students and teachers.
Initial Staff Training(s)
After initial planning by VTS Program Administrators with the school's teachers and administration, a VTS Trainer will lead a series of initial trainings with all teachers and staff. These trainings will ideally take place over 2-3 consecutive days of 2-4 hour sessions prior to or near the beginning of the school year. VTS research has demonstrated that the most significant growth in teacher and student achievement is attained only when all teachers and staff have had VTS professional development.
VTS lessons are typically taught by classroom or "core subject" teachers, however, the portable and flexible nature of VTS teaching and thinking skills provide teachers and students the opportunity to apply the strategies and skills developed in VTS discussions of visual art to other subjects and situations throughout the school.
The initial staff training can take place on a designated school/district PD day; prior to the start of the school year; on a Saturday; other staff development day(s). VTS National maintains an average of 1 Qualified VTS Trainer for every 10 participants at initial staff trainings.
The VTS program's pricing structure is based on the number of 'core' classrooms/teachers rather than the number of teachers participating in the PD events, so non-core staff can participate in the initial training and ongoing opportunities at no additional cost.
To Request a Proposal and budget please fill out this short online survey.
All teacher manuals, image sets, program packets and website registrations are included in the cost of the program and will be provided at the initial staff training. Those teachers who are implementing the VTS curriculum in their classrooms will leave the training ready to conduct their first lessons.
Teachers truly enjoy VTS trainings because they are relaxed but engaging and often remind them of the reasons why they became teachers in the first place.
Debriefings w/One-on-One Coaching
The initial staff training is only the first step in the professional development program. As educators know, and research supports, a one-time training does not make the program sustainable. Many teachers have been exposed to programs for one day, but without on-going professional development support the strength of an implementation can dissipate. Debriefings and one-on-one Coaching significantly strengthen teacher growth and improves the quality and sustainability of the VTS program over the short and long-term.
In addition to supporting program implementation, Debriefings and Coaching also:
-Highlight the subtle aspects of VTS that are not evident until a teacher actually uses VTS in the classroom
-Give teachers the opportunity to reflect on the challenges and successes of VTS in their classroom
-Build communication and develop shared values across school staff
-Develop deeper understanding of VTS research and how to self-assess the program
-Support teachers? own aesthetic growth
One-on-one Coaching sessions take place in individual teachers classrooms, typically during the school day preceding the afternoon group Debriefings. In most cases the coach will facilitate one image discussion with the classroom teacher observer, and classroom teachers will lead the rest of the discussions with the Coach observing. After the lesson, the VTS Coach will provide feedback and pointers to individual teachers, supporting their VTS facilitation and listening skills. Ideally, each teacher implementing the curriculum will be observed and coached at least once per year.
Debriefings are open to all staff and last 1-2 hours, typically after the regular school day, and are facilitated by a Qualified VTS Trainer in the first and second year and by in-school Lead Teachers in the third and subsequent years. These Debriefings are an opportunity for teachers to deepen their understanding of VTS, student thinking, or pose questions they have develop through the process of implementing VTS in their own classrooms. The group format allows teachers to share experiences and learn from their peers, fostering further staff development and supporting a successful implementation.
Ideally, school staff will participate in at least 3 debriefings per year (the 1st Debriefing follows the initial staff training and once teachers have conducted at least 1 lesson in their own classrooms; the 2nd Debriefing follows winter break; and the 3rd Debriefing would take place just prior to the museum visit).
Materials that support Debriefings and Coaching are available on the VTS Wiki Program Website and include agendas, reading materials, video demonstrations and more.