Visual Arts

Thanks to Visual Arts Referendum Funding, PCS teachers can take their classes on meaningful art-focused field trips connected to the district's curriculum. Field trips to view works of art and learn about artists and art history in beautiful art museums, galleries, and centers engage, expand, and inspire young minds. These relevant real-world experiences also allow students, teachers, and chaperones to learn more about our local, state, and world's shared artistic and cultural treasures!

• 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 in standardized test scores after the first year than the control students.” 

Visual Arts Student Field Trip Planning Process for PCS Teachers

PCS Referendum funds dedicated to the Visual Arts are available to cover the cost of commercial buses and admission fees for PCS teachers planning a student visual arts-focused field trip to a district-approved art museum or art center. TDEs and funds for substitute teachers can be provided by the Visual Arts Department ONLY for PCS art teachers to take art students on field trips. ***The deadline for requests for the 2022-2023 school year is Fri., April 14, 2023 (no exceptions).***

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

The teacher requests their school administrator's approval and follows the school's field trip procedures. Then make a field trip reservation with an art museum or art center, obtain student and adult admission rates, and request a written confirmation from the venue (see currently district-approved art museum and art centers below):

• The Dali Museum, St, Petersburg 
• Morean Arts Center, St. Petersburg
• Chihuly Collection presented by Morean Arts Center
• Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg 
• Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, Tarpons Springs
• Dunedin Fine Art Center, 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

2. Transportation Coordination:

District School Bus

1. The 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. If a district bus is unavailable, the teacher or bookkeeper may contact approved vendors found on the Authorized Commercial Carrier Services List to obtain a written quote/acceptance letter.
2. The teacher must complete the Request for Quote Commercial Carrier form (see link below) and submit the form to the school's Bookkeeper.

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

The teacher must fully complete the Visual Arts Field Trip Funding Request Form 2-2102 (incomplete forms may delay the process or be denied). After the school principal signs this form indicating approval, the teacher must scan/photograph: 1. the Funding Request form, 2. the carrier bus acceptance letter (if applicable), and 3. the art museum/center reservation confirmation letter, and send all of the files together in one email to: Francine Giannotti <giannottif@pcsb.org>, Visual Arts Secretary/Bookkeeper, OR print and pony all of the forms together in one mail envelope to the Visual Arts Office at the PCS Administration Building. 

4. Field Trip Approval Process:

The Visual Arts Department will review the three required files (see above) within 5-7 business days and, upon approval, email a memo to both the teacher and their school's Bookkeeper with funding cost strip information for paying the admission (if there is an admission fee) and/or commercial carrier fees.

5. After Receiving the Approval Memo:

1. The school's Secretary/Bookkeeper will generate a TDE for the visual arts teacher* and email it to Francine Giannotti <giannottif@pcsb.org> for funding a substitute teacher. (*Only art teachers may be provided a Visual Arts Department-funded TDE for taking art students on a field trip.)
2. The teacher must immediately confirm their carrier transportation for the field trip with the carrier vendor.
3. The teacher must coordinate with their school's bookkeeper to arrange admissions payment via P-Card or PCS Purchase Order using the provided cost strip at the time of the actual visit to the venue.

Cancellations:

• The teacher must notify their school's Secretary/Bookkeeper, the art venue, the commercial carrier, and the Visual Arts Office of a cancellation ASAP.

 

Questions? Contact:

Francine Giannotti <GIANNOTTIF@pcsb.org>, Secretary/Bookkeeper, PreK-12 Visual Arts Department