Arts for Learning Virginia is the leading provider of quality arts-in-education programming in Virginia, with a mission to inspire and engage students in and through the arts. The organization’s interactive performances and hands-on workshops help students develop creative, social-emotional, and academic skills as they learn from professionally trained artists. Students and educators alike are profoundly touched by the organization’s diverse artistic and cultural programming.
During the 2021-2022 school year, Arts for Learning reached more than 42,000 students and served 119 Virginia public schools. Of the schools served, more than 90% were designated as Title 1 because of high enrollment of low-income students who typically do not have the same exposure to the arts as those from wealthier communities.
The Challenge
Prior to COVID-19, Arts for Learning was known for its in-school performances, workshops, and residencies. In response to the pandemic, the organization adapted to a virtual learning environment by developing new educational programs for online learners hosted on a web-based WordPress. However, Arts for Learning faced challenges in making the programming easily accessible to public schools. Many school districts, including all of those in Virginia, use a secure web-based platform called Clever to run their digital classrooms. Virginia educators were already using Clever to source programming from third-party vendors for their lesson plans, but Arts for Learning’s virtual programs were not available.
How TechArk Delivered
Arts for Learning asked TechArk for help making its virtual programming available through Clever. We researched the criteria for integration and developed a single sign-on implementation solution to tie the systems together via a secure login. Now, students and teachers can access Arts for Learning content directly through Clever without having to log in to two separate platforms.