H.O.T. Schools
H.O.T. Schools
Higher Order Thinking Schools is currently celebrating its 30th year anniversary of providing arts integrated teaching and learning to schools throughout the state of Connecticut!
HOT Schools is a whole school, deep impact, arts program that enriches school culture, improves student engagement, and expands teacher practice. Grounded in Social Emotional Learning, Culturally Responsive Teaching, and Multiple Intelligence Theory, HOT Schools utilizes a skilled roster of Teaching Artists to provide Professional Development, Arts Integrated Residencies, Arts Workshops, and School-wide Performances in K–12 schools across Connecticut.
In the 2024–25 school year we are partnering with 10 schools. With a school portfolio that bridges the urban, suburban, and rural divide, we seek educational equity by serving schools and communities with significant proportions of students who are eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch or who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color.
HOT Schools was established in 1994 by the Connecticut Office of the Arts and partnered with dozens of schools and hundreds of teaching artists, serving tens of thousands of students over three decades. In 2019, COA and AFLCT leadership started working together to envision the next chapter of this nationally-recognized program, which led to HOT Schools becoming a core program of AFLCT.
“As we navigate a path through this paradigm shift in education, arts-infused teaching
and learning remains critical to our resilience. Higher Order Thinking Schools cultivate
creative and collaborative thinking to help steer our way.”
—Christopher Eaves, Director, HOT Schools
Arts in education, sometimes referred to as “arts learning,” is an approach to teaching and learning that utilizes creativity, imagination, and artistic exploration to support student outcomes. Arts Learning falls into 4 categories:
Performances: Artistic presentations, often in an assembly or large-group setting.
Art Workshops: Individual creative classes or experiences with significant teaching artist – student interaction, often in smaller-group settings.
Residencies: Extended arts learning series in which the same students work with the same teaching artist(s) over multiple sessions.
Professional Development: Trainings for teachers in arts learning strategies.