National Arts in Education Conference March 25-27, 2026 | Washington, D.C.
National Arts in Education Conference
March 25-27, 2026 | Washington, D.C.

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  • Session A1. RAISE Action Research Poster Session

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    Responsive Arts in School Education (RAISE) is a program of Young Audiences National, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Now in its fifth year, RAISE has reached over 50,000 students across 19 cities. Join RAISE teaching artists from across the country as they share what they’ve learned.

  • Session A4. Honoring the Past, Activating the Future: Engaging Alumni as Leaders, Mentors, and Lifelong Advocates

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    Alumni stories illustrate the long-term impact of programs like ArtWorks and inspire stakeholders to invest in sustainable leadership pathways. By highlighting alumni as mentors, leaders, volunteers, and donors—not just storytellers—organizations create multigenerational alliances across the youth arts ecosystem.

  • Session B1. Expanding the Narrative: The PD/Residency Model

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    In this session, the presenters will give an overview of the model in which staff in schools or school districts participate in professional development training combined with a residency, share an arts integrated activity, and have attendees reflect on how they can implement the same strategy.  

  • Session B2. Lessons Learned Through Dance: The Impact of Our RAISE Program Grant

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    This session offers an inside look at a RAISE dance residency for elementary students in a school without an existing dance program. It will explore the project’s approach, the stories that emerged from both students and the teaching artist, and the impact these narratives had on the school community.

  • Session B3. The Odd Couple: Data Collection and Arts Education

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    “Data” doesn’t only mean test scores, it’s about impact, it’s about holistic student experience. This session is in response to the oft-clerical evaluations, and how it doesn’t need to be like that all of the time. 

  • Session B4. What Story Are We Telling? Reimagining Narratives Through Youth-Centered Practice 

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    This session invites participants to examine how power, identity, and narrative shape the ways youth stories are created, shared, and remembered. Participants will be guided toward practices that ensure young people are not only heard, but positioned as co-authors of the stories that define their communities. 

  • Session C1. Migration Stories

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    This session explores how centering personal narratives—particularly those of migrants—shapes what stories are told, how they are understood, and how they are shared. Based on a RAISE classroom experience with a newly arrived student from Venezuela, the workshop demonstrates how artmaking can become a bridge for communication when language poses a barrier.

  • Session C2. I Will… Centering Youth Voice in Storytelling

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    In this interactive, youth-led session, Bloomberg Arts Interns invite participants to examine the guiding question: Which voices are centered in our stories, and how does this impact what is told, how it’s received, and how it’s retold and shared? Participants will experience firsthand how these activities foreground student agency, strengthen authentic storytelling, and reshape how arts educators represent young people in narrative, fundraising, and program reporting.

  • Session C3. Soul of Langston: Crafting Community Narratives Through Arts and Humanities

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    This session explores how centering marginalized voices transforms arts education and community engagement. Attendees will gain practical strategies for integrating narrative into arts learning, including a replicable framework for community workshops, tools for measuring impact, and approaches for building sustainable partnerships.

  • Session C4. Telling ArtsNOW’s Professional Learning Story Through Data

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    Presenters will share how they collaborated to design an impact survey, collect data, and ultimately tell the story of ArtsNOW’s impact on teachers’ classroom practice through high-quality professional learning. Telling ArtsNOW’s story to different audiences will be the central focus of this session.

  • Session D2. Dramatic Adventures: Creating Original Stories with Children

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    The story-building process provides children with opportunities to practice key literacy, cognitive, and social emotional skills, use their imaginations, collaborate, and have fun! This session demonstrates how to center the voices of young children in creating and telling stories.

  • Session D3. Joyful Learning: The Story of STEAM Told Through the Joy of Art Making

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    Since 2019, Young Audiences of Northern California (YANC), in partnership with the South San Francisco Unified School District, has supported the district’s STEAM Summer School through curriculum development and program delivery. In this session, YANC will share its observation framework and explore how narrative—through story, film, and art—helps us more deeply understand, communicate, and honor the true impact of our work. 

  • National Reception

    Planet Word Museum 925 13th St. NW, Washington, D.C.

    Join national colleagues for an evening reception with drinks and bites. This gathering is a chance to share and connect with others who care deeply about telling our story and shaping what comes next. Speaker info TBA.

  • Session E1. Minor Voices

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    This session is dedicated to the empowerment of youth in the communities we serve. After exploring topics of interest to youth, create narrative that speaks to their interests and ideas and export those ideas into performance, participants will walk away with strategies to engage students in meaningful conversations, understand methods for generating performance material and produce a small performance art piece of their own. 

  • Session E2. Beyond the Algorithm: Preparing Students to Think, Feel, and Create in an AI World 

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    This session shares stories from my journey as an artist turned educator turned instructional coach, and from the real moments that often get overlooked in art class. Participants will leave with three practical tools: Name-Frame-Claim, Creative Identity Mapping, and the Resilience Studio Framework. Together, these simple practices show how creativity prepares young people for a future that needs thoughtful, confident, deep thinkers. 

  • Session E3. Supporting Reflective Practice: Tools to Guide Teaching Artist Growth (Pt. 1 of 2)

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    Led by the Center for Arts Education and SEL (ArtsEdSEL) team members, this session will support participants with structured reflection on their practice and a better understanding of how their classroom can be a space for rich social and emotional growth through the arts. It is recommended that you attend this session if you are interested in attending Session F3. Artistic SEL Core Practices. 

  • Session E4. From Partnership to Impact: Building Sustainable Arts Integration Models with School Districts

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    Through testimonies, planning tools, and collaborative activities, attendees will identify the story their community currently tells about arts integration and the story required to move the work forward. Participants will leave with a clear roadmap for designing or scaling arts-integrated programming—rooted in school-level partnerships, supported by sustainable budgets, and strengthened by a compelling alliance narrative.  

  • Session F2. In Response to Place: Personal Postcard Collage as Storytelling Practice

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    This hands-on session blends human geography and cultural anthropology to explore how people make meaning through the places they hold dear. Participants will engage in the “Personal Postcard Collage” activity developed by the AACC Arts Integration Hub, reflecting a meaningful place and translating its landscape, memories, and emotional qualities into visual and written narrative.

  • Session F4. From Story to System: How Narrative Drives Arts Education Policy in Alabama

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    Together we will explore how local stories from classrooms and communities can shape conversations with superintendents, legislators, and funders. Participants will practice combining data and personal stories to make a clear case for arts education and will leave with templates and examples they can apply in their own work. Through this process, we will look at how narrative helps build lasting relationships among schools, districts, and state partners and how shared stories can move systems forward. 

  • Session G2. Using Data to Shape the Narrative of Program Impact

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    This session will examine the data from a program designed to improve ELA scores and social emotional learning/work habits in elementary school students. Attendees will explore how different data points can be used to tailor discussions to a variety of stakeholders and shape narratives around the impact of their programming. 

  • Session G3. You’re Already Doing This: Simplifying Action Research and Integrating It Into Your Practice

    Westin Wash., DC City Center 1400 M St SW, Washington, D.C.

    This session introduces the simplified IDEA approach to action research (Identify, Design, Enact, Adjust), equipping participants with a tool to enhance the continuous improvement they already do. Participants will learn the basics of formative assessment and action research—including how, when, and why to use it—and will have the opportunity to test the process.