Close-up of colorful watercolor paint pans arranged in a vibrant palette.

ArtsECO

ArtsECO stands for Arts Education/Community Ecosystem. Centered in UWM’s Peck School of the Arts Department of Art & Design, it develops teachers as change-makers. ArtsECO is backed by a strong and sustainable community of arts organizations, nonprofits and K-16 school partnerships.

We recruit and develop thoughtfully engaged, social justice-oriented pre-service teachers and support them as they grow into inspired mentors who integrate the arts into the classroom. We also develop teachers’ abilities to leverage and share the rich assets of Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin.

Innovative Educators Institute

We are proud to offer collaborations with Lynden Sculpture Garden through the Innovative Educators Institute, an intensive, hands-on, year-round professional teacher development experience. The Institute brings together pre-service, early-career, and veteran teachers with artists, Lynden staff, and university faculty in a community of practice centered around the week-long summer lab.

Cross-disciplinary, school-based teams focus on developing and sharing interdisciplinary, arts-integrated strategies and methodologies that are easily adapted to the classroom. The Institute supports teacher-as-artist practices and provides resources and opportunities to the classrooms of participating teachers, such as free field trips to Lynden and school-based residencies with Institute artists. The Institute also works closely with teachers to develop unique programs to support their individual teaching experience.

Visit the Institute Site