Imagine for a moment that you are in fifth grade, learning fractions. If you were not a math wiz back then, you may have wondered, "When am I ever going to get this?" Your teacher then announces that your class is going to learn how to "dance" fractions. You and your classmates are divided into groups of four and in a circle. Through various movements your group begins to demonstrate the concepts of a whole, half, fourth and so on. Suddenly, you realize that you actually understand fractions!

This is one of many examples of how using the arts to teach and support core curriculum enables students to become active participants in the learning process. Learning through the arts ensures that all types of learners have a chance to comprehend math, science and the world around them in meaningful ways stretching beyond traditional lectures and textbooks.

Arts integration is an essential, fun, and rewarding way to transform classrooms. As teachers embrace innovative ways to educate students through the arts, they often seek relationships and collaborations with teachers across subject areas, artists and with local arts and cultural organizations.

These relationships are vital for teachers and students. In fact, according to RAND researcher Cassandra Guarino, a growing body of evidence suggests a positive relationship between teacher collaboration and student achievement, also found when teachers partner with professional teaching artists.

The Durham Arts Council's Creative Arts in Public and Private Schools program (CAPS) provides a partnership between professional teaching artists and schools for the purpose of arts integration. This 37-year program partners with public and private schools to provide interactive residencies that seamlessly bridge the arts and core curriculum. CAPS programs, led by professional artists and arts groups, go directly into classrooms each year reaching an average of 58 schools and more than 11,000 children.

Over the years, arts have increasingly become an important part of Durham classrooms. Teachers are teaming up with arts specialists to plan and co-teach thematic units. Teachers are also using the wealth of arts opportunities found in the Durham community. Durham Academy fourth-grade social studies teachers have used CAPS to host painter Cong Yuan for the past five years. He makes China "come alive" for our students as they study many aspects of Chinese culture including calligraphy, music, watercolors and the martial arts.

While the arts may help curriculum "come alive" for students, numerous studies also indicate that experiences in and through arts learning positively affect academic and social development in children and youth. The Arts Education Partnership's 2007 publication Critical Links finds that learning through the arts helps close the achievement gap, improve academic skills essential for reading and language development, increase standardized test scores, decrease drop outs, and motivate students to learn.

The arts hold no boundaries, only creative possibilities that instill a lifetime of learning.