 The OMA model incorporates three key types of educators: the classroom teacher, the school’s Arts Integration Specialist, and the teaching artist. To be considered an OMA school, the school or district must fund the position of Arts Integration Specialist. This highly qualified, certified arts teacher works with every grade level in his or her school, teaching classes that coordinate with classroom teachers’ lesson plans. He or she also works in tandem with the teaching artists. Teaching artists come from the community, working at the symphony, opera, an area university, independently, or for other arts organizations. Work with OMA enables them to supplement their performing and tutoring income and bring their art form to a new generation of appreciative and educated audiences.
Classroom teachers use OMA strategies in teaching and learn to incorporate the arts into everyday lesson plans. An OMA school is different from a regular school. It has better teacher and student morale, fewer discipline problems, better attendance and more parental involvement. OMA has been implemented in a variety of schools including those with impoverished and highly mobile populations where English is often a second or third language. For more information about OMA Schools, click on the individual school links below.
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  2025 E. Winsett Street, Tucson, Arizona 85719 OMA: 520-225-4900 Foundation: 520-225-4656 |
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