Studio in a School developed this website to support the recent development of the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Visual Arts. As the term “blueprint” suggests, this document is a map which sets a course for the New York Department of Education’s strategic plan to provide an excellent arts education for every child.

The Blueprint lays out student achievement benchmarks for grades 2, 5, 8, and 12, and is aligned with National and New York State Standards. Five strands of instruction encourage learning that utilizes the unique resources of New York City communities.

The units of study included on this website show the work of teachers and artists who are developing units of instruction that meet the benchmarks. We hope that these units will be shared in conversations with your collegues, in professional development sessions, and most importantly, in classrooms city-wide.