MoNA Link Teacher Application

The MoNA Link program is a partnership between the Museum of Northwest Art and school districts in the Skagit Valley. It is a one-year professional development program in art education for teachers, including 6 professional development days, field trips to the museum, and in-classroom art lessons led by museum educators and Creative Connections Teaching Artists.

Program Goals:

• Provide teachers with opportunities to make, experience, and better understand art to support their work integrating art into their classrooms.

• Encourage teachers to use MoNA as a community resource and for instructional support, including training in Visual Thinking Strategies as a critical thinking and dialogue technique which can be used across the curriculum.

• Help students achieve state standards in visual art with an emphasis on art integration.

MoNA Link 2027-28 School Year At-A-Glance 

• August 10, 11 and 12, 2027

  • Three-Day Summer Institute: an inspiring study of visual art concepts, hands-on art making with teaching artists in a wide variety of media, aligning art standards with lessons and training in Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS)! These days are focused on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) and Social Emotional Learning and qualify for STEM and SEL Clock Hours.

• September & October 2027

  • Pre-tour Classroom Visits: an introduction for students to MoNA and to frame the upcoming Museum Visit.

• Fall 2027, Winter & Spring 2028

  • Three Full-Day Professional Development Days for Teachers: each of these Institute Days will focus on integrating art lessons into other subject areas (ex: Literacy, Social Studies) using hand-on art projects, and learning from teaching artists. At each Institute, teachers will also preview the exhibitions that students will see on their field trips and practice VTS discussions. Substitutes are provided by districts unless paid for by the MoNA scholarship fund.

  • Up to two Museum Visits for Each Class: including art discussions, art projects and additional activities. MoNA can provide subsidized or free transportation. Students are invited to visit MoNA two times a year to see new exhibitions, learn art techniques, and develop the skills to speak and write about art with confidence. One of these needs to be an in-person field trip to MoNA and the other can be a “Mobile Museum visit” in which MoNA staff visits the classroom and leads a discussion and hands-on project based on the current exhibition. Some MoNA exhibitions may contain mature content and we understand that this may be a sensitive issue. We work closely with teachers and administrators, and we recommend teachers become familiar with exhibition content before visiting with their students.

Clock Hours:

Teachers can earn up to 42 Clock Hours over the one-year program. Each Summer Institute offers 21 hours and the three full-day Professional Development Institutes are seven hours each, for a total of 21 possible additional hours by the end of one school year. Some of the hours qualify as STEM and SEL Clock Hours. Teachers are responsible for paying for their own clock hours unless they receive a scholarship.

Scholarships:

Scholarships are available for teachers at high-need schools which are paid for in part by the Karl Holzmuller Art Access Fund. This scholarship intends to make the MoNA Link program even more accessible to schools and will cover the following expenses:

• bus transportation for up to two visits to the Museum each year (MoNA reimburses School District)

• three full-day substitutes to cover participation on Professional Development Institute days

• NWESD fees for clock hours earned

Please contact MoNA education staff at education@museumofnwart.org or at (360) 466-4446 with any questions.