The Tennessee Arts Academy Summer Institute consists of two divisions, one geared to elementary/lower middle school teachers (K–6) and the other designed for upper middle/high school teachers (7-12). Participants are grouped according to their specific teaching assignment into one of the three core TAA academic areas – music, theatre and dance, and visual art. The primary TAA participants include K–12 arts specialists, regular classroom teachers, librarians, and school and district level personnel.

A special session in Arts Leadership and Administration is provided for school administrators, supervisors, teacher-leaders, pre-service teachers, and university professors. Classroom teachers and librarians form the main constituency in the elementary theatre session, which focuses on techniques to enhance all subject areas across the curriculum through arts integration, creative drama, and movement. A unique Trio Track integrated arts session allows participants to attend daily individual classes in the three core areas of music, theatre, and visual art.

Two to three core classes a day are spent by participants in intensive study with a highly trained faculty of national and international scholars, professors, award-winning educators, and renowned artists assembled anew each year. Besides the core classes, there is an extraordinary daily array of world-renowned speakers, multiple artist performances, special mini-course choice sessions, networking opportunities, and social activities.  The “TAA Summer Institute Experience” is a week like none other!

Seven months following the Summer Institute, TAA offers a Virtual Winter Retreat free of charge to all attendees who attended the summer session.  Many educators attend an exhilarating Academy week but return to their difficult jobs feeling unsupported and underappreciated by their own administrative staff. TAA’s day-long Virtual Winter Retreat refreshes, sustains, and builds upon lessons from the Summer Institute, helping educators to deepen their understanding and mitigate mid-year burnout.

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