Model Schools
Forecasted
Model Schools supports Mississippi schools with staff training, teaching-artist workshops, and advisory services to sustain arts-integrated teaching and strengthen learning across disciplines.
Funder: Mississippi Arts Commission
Due Dates (Anticipated): March 2027 (MWS application draft) | April 2027 (Whole Schools application)
Funding Amounts: Renewable two-year award; MWS services require a cash match up to $5,000
Summary: Model Schools recognizes schools that have transformed their culture through arts integration and supports sustained arts-based teaching and learning.
Key Information: Applicants must have completed at least three years in Mississippi Whole Schools.
Description
Model Schools is a renewable, two-year award within Mississippi Whole Schools (MWS), a Mississippi Arts Commission program. It is intended for schools that have demonstrated a commitment to arts integration and changed their school culture through the arts. The program promotes high-quality instruction across disciplines by making arts integration part of daily classroom learning, alongside sequential, comprehensive instruction in dance, theatre, visual arts, and music.
The broader MWS program supports professional learning for teachers, administrators, parents, and teaching artists through institutes and retreats. Workshop content is developed with the Mississippi Department of Education and uses the College and Career Readiness Standards and College and Career Readiness Arts Learning Standards. Its approach connects school improvement, staff development, and comprehensive arts instruction rather than treating the arts as separate from everyday teaching.
