Integrated Arts Specialist

Integrated Arts Specialist

Northwestern Middle School's vision is a safe place where our staff and students love to be and love to learn! We all commit to creating a safe, compassionate, and academically engaging learning environment so all can reach their full potential. Northwestern has transformed into a K-8 visual and performing arts academy. Visual and performing arts are powerful tools to help students discover healthy expression, build self-worth, engage in learning, and discover their power to contribute to the world.

At the transformed Northwestern, students will:
Choose from a variety of different music, literary and visual art, theater, and dance classes. Participate in a rich arts educational experience that includes various performances, visual arts and other community involvement opportunities. Benefit from major upgrades to the school itself, including a new Welcome Center, studio spaces for dance and art classes, brand new digital graphics and video production lab, and new kindergarten classrooms.

Position Summary:

The Integrated Arts Specialist provides instructional leadership for arts-integrated, project-based learning grades K-8 at Northwestern Visual and Performing Arts Academy. The specialist works with the principal, teachers, district leaders, and community partners to design, implement, and continuously improve learning experiences that intentionally connect visual arts, music, theatre, dance, media arts, and other creative disciplines with core academic standards. The role strengthens student engagement, academic achievement, creative expression, and readiness for future education, careers, and community participation.

The role includes curriculum development, co-planning and co-teaching, professional learning, assessment design, data analysis, program coordination, evaluation of teaching staff and community engagement. The specialist helps create a learner-centered culture in which rigorous teaching, collaboration, innovation, reflection, and continuous improvement are evident across classrooms and programs.

Major Responsibilities:

• Arts-Integrated Curriculum and Instruction
• Lead the development, implementation, and refinement of a coherent arts-integration framework aligned with district curriculum, Michigan academic standards, and applicable fine arts standards.
• Collaborate with teachers and departments to design interdisciplinary units, projects, performances, exhibitions, and learning experiences that connect the arts with literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, and other content areas.
• Use backward design and other research-based curriculum design processes to clarify learning outcomes, assessments, instructional experiences, and standards alignment.
• Co-plan, model, and co-teach arts-integrated lessons that demonstrate rigorous, culturally responsive, learner-centered practice.
• Support the appropriate use of project-based, blended, and technology-enhanced learning when these approaches improve access, creativity, collaboration, or demonstration of learning.
• Review curriculum guides, course descriptions, program overviews, and related instructional resources with the principal and district curriculum leaders.

Professional Learning and Instructional Support

• Assess staff learning needs and coordinate a professional learning plan for arts integration, interdisciplinary planning, project-based learning, assessment, and technology integration.
• Facilitate professional learning during the summer and school year using internal expertise, external partners, demonstration lessons, coaching, collaborative planning, and reflection.
• Provide teachers with timely feedback, resources, and job-embedded support that strengthen implementation and student outcomes.
• Plan and facilitate teaching-and-learning segments during staff meetings and other designated professional learning structures.
• Participate actively in professional learning communities, the Instructional Leadership Team, and other collaborative improvement teams.

Assessment, Data and Continuous Improvement

• Develop and support common performance tasks, portfolios, exhibitions, rubrics, and other authentic measures of academic and artistic learning.
• Analyze student achievement, engagement, attendance, course performance, and implementation evidence to identify strengths, gaps, and next steps.
• Work with the principal and Instructional Leadership Team to use evidence in developing, monitoring, and revising the school improvement plan and Theory of Action.
• Monitor the quality and consistency of arts-integrated programming and recommend adjustments to curriculum, professional learning, schedules, resources, and student supports.
• Communicate progress, implementation needs, and program outcomes clearly to school and district leaders.

Leadership, Collaboration and Program Coordination

• Serve as an active member of the school leadership team and contribute to a shared vision for excellence in visual and performing arts education.
• Partner with the principal and…