Side X Side

Portland arts program

Side X Side is an educational nonprofit with a mission to promote engaged learning, critical thinking, problem solving and exploration while enhancing K-12 content curriculum through innovative, collaborative, creative, multi-disciplinary programming.

About
Side x Side puts curiosity & engagement back into learning through innovative educational programming that cultivates creativity and collaboration.

Company Overview
Side x Side was created to provide educators, college interns, and K-12 students with a distinctive, creative framework to facilitate interdisciplinary, engaged learning through a multi-dimentional, platform. Within our programming, we cultivate intergenerational partnerships and professional relationships while activating long term collaborations between educators, students, visiting experts, and artists.

General Information
Imagine a classroom buzzing with excited students learning from a marine biologist about oceans, plankton, and the life cycle of an osprey. Picture students conducting scientific research, then building an interactive, 3-d installation of a living ocean with the expertise of a local sculptor. Visualize meaningful collaborations between classroom teachers, teaching artists, professional experts, and university interns. Now envision an entire school “a buzz”, where students are animated, engaged in hands-on learning, skilled at critical thinking, and exploring and developing the competencies necessary to thrive in the 21st century. This is the vision of SideXSide!

Awards
• U. S. Department of Education Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination Grant, 2014

• The Portland Education Foundation in partnership with Reiche Community School

• Donors Choose in conjunction with Mrs. Fox and the second grade team at Reiche Community School

• Portland Public Schools Envirologix STEM grant in conjunction with Mrs. Fox and the second grade team at Reiche Community School

Side x Side Professional Development

Side x Side’s Arts Institute develops comprehensive professional development programs for elementary school teachers. Through continuous professional development opportunities, Side x Side empowers teachers and cultivates a meaningful understanding of the impact of arts integration and its application in the classroom.

Side x Side’s professional development programs are designed with both art and classroom teachers to include relevant pedagogy, content and standards. This collaboration demonstrates how well-designed arts projects can form the basis of an interdisciplinary instructional approach that incorporates contemporary learning standards into all academic subject areas.

Side x Side’s professional development strives to:

Provide classroom teachers instruction in and exposure to various art forms applicable to their teaching and curriculum design in order to meet the needs of all students.
Help redefine how students access, engage with and demonstrate their knowledge of the curriculum.
Support relationships that help foster sustainable community-based education practices through the placement of teaching artists and content experts in k-12 classrooms.
Side x Side offered a Summer Arts Institute in June 2015, its first professional development conference for elementary school teachers and also held school-specific workshops in October last year.

For more information contact: info@sidexside.com or visit the “For Teachers” page. Side X Side is located at 636 Congress St., Portland.