Turnaround Arts
Learning Framework

Our Framework

Turnaround Arts Learning Framework: Arts-full Practices for Belonging

By collaborating with communities where students and adults Experience the Arts, Make Art, and Connect through the Arts in joyful and culturally responsive ways, Turnaround Arts champions belonging-supportive environments that respect every student’s identity, capacity to succeed, and their individual agency. These arts-full spaces encourage all participants to learn and thrive.

Learning Framework Preview

*Tip: Use the arrows at the bottom to navigate through the booklet.

The full Learning Framework is available for download at the bottom of the page.

Why Turnaround Arts and Belonging?

  • As Turnaround Arts began its second decade we looked back on the successes of our initial implementation.

    In our strategic planning process, we learned of the great gains partner schools experienced across many realms, and heard individual stories from countless individuals who shared the meaningful impact that the program has had on their lives. By listening to the Turnaround Arts community, we came to realize that the program’s successes stemmed from a palpable shift in school culture and climate. By incorporating the arts more fully into each school day, many schools saw a positive change in the way their environments felt and functioned.

  • We could see anecdotally that the act of art-making with others inherently draws students and teachers alike closer together. We also saw students develop skills in collaboration, cooperation, empathy, and trust. What we saw firsthand is supported by recent research describing how the simple act of rhythmically bouncing or tapping in unison with others can increase generosity, trust, and tolerance, demonstrating the pro-social benefits of making and enjoying music together. We couldn’t help but ask ourselves questions like: 

    • What would it look like if an entire school was centered around this principle of building belonging through the arts? 

    • What would happen if teachers developed relationships with their students by creating, playing, and laughing together? 

    • What would schools be like if academic curricula asked students and teachers to delve deep into their identities, as humans and artists, and learn about one another along the way? 

    • What if schools created places that reflected students’ identities and invited every community member to contribute to how the space felt and functioned? 

    These questions, the research, our observations, input, and feedback gathered from the network and our think tank participants, combined with our intentional focus on the values of anti-racism and cultural responsiveness, culminated in the design of our new ​​Turnaround Arts Learning Framework: Arts-full Practices for Belonging. 

*Check back for the accompanying Arts-full Assessment Tool for the 2025-2026 school year.

The science proves that belonging helps the brain feel comfortable and allows us to focus on higher order thinking and learning.

Belonging in Brief

In these bite-sized videos, listen to experts in the field define belonging and its importance.

Download the full version of the Turnaround Arts Learning Framework