O.M.A. (Opening Minds through the Arts)

Van Buskirk is an O.M.A. Gold School!  We are one of 13 certified O.M.A. Gold  schools in the Tucson Unified School District.  View our profile on the O.M.A. Foundation’s Collection of Gold Schools page, or read more about the O.M.A. Model at TUSD’s website.

We have a full-time Arts Integration Specialist (AIS) as well as professional teaching artists who collaborate with teachers on a daily basis in order to integrate the arts into our curriculum.  The O.M.A. Model’s goal is to improve student achievement through the infusion of arts in the areas of reading, math, science, writing, and social studies, as well as 21st century skills.

Teachers at O.M.A. Gold schools are trained by the Foundation to create and implement lessons using the arts to help students become more engaged, master curricular objectives, and have fun!  In the summer of 2010, 18 Van Buskirk staff members attended the four-day Arts Integration Academy (AIA).  They attended lectures, participated in exploratory classes, planned as a team, and even took part in performances in the areas of dance, opera, and visual arts.

Students are exposed to a wind trio in kindergarten, opera in first grade, dance in second, recorders in third, violins in fourth, and band and orchestra in fifth grade.  To see pictures and videos of our students participating in O.M.A. lessons and performances, scroll down to the links below.