Both simple and complex issues surfaced and were resolved. For example, schools were not aware of the cost or scope of the cultural partners' services. By gaining an understanding of these services, the schools were able to establish a realistic budget and to develop effective and innovative uses of the services. Through their initial meetings, Arts Are Academic, a partnership to build sequential, arts-integrated curricula in four Boston middle schools, found that the cultural partners were not familiar with the arts standards that guide the partner schools' curricula. As a result, they held workshops for cultural organizations' staff members to orient them to the standards and to identify which standards their programs could address.
Teacher training can be critical to sustaining a partnership's impact in the schools.
American Moments, a partnership to integrate the resources of local cultural organizations into the Springfield Public Schools' American history curriculum, held a summer institute for teachers that focused on the American Revolution. It revitalized my teaching. Art Works for Schools, a partnership in Lincoln to promote critical and creative thinking skills in teaching and learning, conducted residencies with the Underground Railway Theatre and the DeCordova's traveling Gallery on the Go. At the end of their summer institute, American Moments participants exchanged the curriculum units they created. These units will form the basis for a permanent resource library for Springfield teachers.