Madison Reporter

This summer, the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) worked with eight local arts organizations to bring expanded arts programming into its summer semester curriculum. Nearly 30 guest artists and 12 MMSD teachers led classes in visual arts, dance, theater, and other creative fields at elementary and middle school sites across the district.

The classes were built into students’ daily schedules in several 45-minute blocks. This approach allowed all students to participate in each artistic discipline available at their site.

The program builds on the former Summer Arts Academy by offering a wider range of creative experiences. Artists such as Francis Medrano, who led Afro-Peruvian dance sessions focused on both movement and fitness, and Sarah Rhoads, who ran a theater program covering performance and technical skills, participated in the initiative.

MMSD’s summer arts programming aimed to keep students active during the break while also connecting them with Madison’s broader artistic community. The effort is part of MMSD’s goal to provide equitable access to arts education for all students by partnering with local groups and hiring diverse professional artists. Through activities like fiber arts projects or stage lighting design, students were encouraged to explore new interests and aspects of their identities.

“These experiences build confidence and curiosity,” said Dan Davidson, MMSD’s director of arts education. “They help students develop new skills, but also new ways of seeing the world and themselves in it.”

“There are so many organizations out there that really contribute to our community and the artistic cultures that we have throughout the city,” Davidson added. “And this really brings that artistic experience alive within our traditional summer school setting each and every day.”

Teachers and guest artists highlighted how art can connect people through shared stories. “It’s about telling stories and empathy and being able to relate to experiences,” said Rhoads. “I think theater can be best described as a window or a door. You’re either looking into someone’s experience or really living something that’s similar to your own. I think now more than ever, we really need to come together in bridging these experiences—especially at a young age.”

For information about upcoming arts events at MMSD schools, visit the district’s website.