Field trips to see great works of art and visit art venues engages and expands the mind and allows students, teachers, parents, and chaperones to learn about our shared cultures. The Visual Arts Department encourages any district teacher to take their class(es) to visit the wonderful art museums we are so fortunate to have here in the Tampa Bay area.

 

• Read this article about how art museum visits during childhood inspired modern-day artists to fall in love with art!
• Read this article about an unexpectedly positive result from arts-focused field trips “The surprising result is that students who received multiple field trips experienced significantly greater gains on their standardized test scores after the first year than did the control students.” 

Field Trips provide an opportunity to introduce many of the Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards in a unique and relevent setting.  Listed below are some of the Elementary Standards, which are also addressed in more depth in Middle and High School Visual Arts Courses.

VA.K.H.1.1: Describe art from selected cultures and places.,VA.K.H.2.2: Explore everyday objects that have been designed and created by artists. e.g., artwork, utilitarian objects.,VA.1.C.1.2: Gather clues to help interpret and reflect on works of art., VA.1.H.1.3:  Describe ways in which artists use their work to share knowledge and life experiences., VA.2.C.1.2: Reflect on and discuss various possible meanings in works of art., VA.2.H.1.2: Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate audience behavior., VA.3.C.3.2: Describe the connections between visual art and other contexts through observation and art criticism., VA.4.C.1.2: Describe observations and apply prior knowledge to interpret visual information and reflect on works of art., VA.4.H.1.3: Describe artworks that honor and are reflective of particular individuals, groups, events and/or cultures., VA.5.C.1.3: Examine and discuss exemplary works of art to distinguish which qualities may be used to evaluate personal works., VA.5.O.2.1:6 analyze works of art that document people and events from a variety of places and ties to synthesize ideas for creating artwork e. g. knowledge, empathy, technique, artistic choices, symbolic choices.

Referendum funds dedicated to the Visual Arts are available to cover the cost of commercial buses and admission fees for any PCS teacher planning an art museum field trip; however, TDEs are provided for visual arts teachers only.

The Visual Arts Field Trip Planning Process

1. At Least Five Weeks in Advance of Proposed Field Trip Date

Teacher requests school administrator's approval and follows school's field trip procedures.  Then makes a field trip reservation with art venue, obtains student and adult admission rates, and requests a written confirmation from the venue (see currently approved art venues below):

Salvador Dali Museum, St, Petersburg

Morean Arts Center, St. Petersburg

Chihully Collection presented by the Morean Arts Center

Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg

Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, Tarpons Springs

Dunedin Fine Arts, Dunedin

Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa

Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota

Duncan McClellan Glass, St. Petersburg

The James Museum, St. Petersburg

Imagine Museum, St. Petersburg

The Curtis Museum, Clearwater

Carter Woodson African American Museum -contact Terri Scott: terrilipseyscott@gmail.com

African American Heritage Trails-contact Hillary Van Dyke: vandykeh@pcsb.org or Gwendolyn Reese: gwen.reese@gmail.com

2. Transportation

District School Bus

1. Teacher requests their school's Bookkeeper to schedule bus transportation. IMPORTANT: Pick up and return times must be between 10:15 am and 1:00 pm (no exceptions).  

Commercial Carrier

1. Teacher contacts approved vendors found on Authorized Commercial Carrier Services List to obtain a written quote/acceptance letter from the carrier.
2. Teacher must complete Request for Quote Commercial Carrier form (see link to below) and submit form to school's Bookkeeper.

3. At Least Four Weeks in Advance of Proposed Field Trip Date

Teacher completes the Visual Arts Field Trip Funding Request Form 2-2102.  After principal approval, teacher scans this form, the carrier bus acceptance letter (if applicable), and the art venue confirmation letter, and sends the files together in one email to: Francine Giannotti <giannottif@pcsb.org> or ponies to the Visual Arts Office at the Administration Building.

4. Field Trip Approval

The Visual Arts Department will email an approval memo to both the teacher and their school's Bookkeeper with funding cost strip information for paying the admission and/or commercial carrier fees.

5. After Receiving Approval Memo

1. Teacher will immediately confirm carrier transportation.
2. Teacher will coordinate with school's Bookkeeper to arrange admissions payment via P-Card or PCS Purchase Order using cost strip.

Cancellation

• Teacher must notify school's Bookkeeper, the art venue, commercial carrier, and the Visual Arts Office of a cancellation ASAP.

 

Contact with any questions about the above process: Francine Giannotti <GIANNOTTIF@pcsb.org> Art Office Phone: 727-588-6057