The mission of the Marcy Arts Partnership is to provide arts-integrated programs and residencies for all children at Marcy Open School. We are guided by the belief that the core curriculum, coupled with the arts, enhances and deepens learning experiences.

The Marcy Arts Partnership grew out of an effort in 1995 by parents and teachers to connect Marcy Open School to the many art resources in the community and to use these to strengthen learning in the class room.  The primary goal of the program is to integrate the arts into the Marcy Open School Curriculum in order to improve student learning.  Another goal of the program is to establish long term relationships with arts and community organizations in the greater community in order to provide a vital mechanism for bringing artists into the school to work with teachers and students.

During the first six years of the Marcy Arts Partnership programs were sponsored in part by the Minnesota Arts & Education Partnership and the Annenberg Arts for Academic Achievement, with matching grants from local businesses.  Since then, the largest portion of the budget has been raised in the annual Marcy Arts Gala fundraising event.  Additional funding has been possible through grants from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and Target Corporation.  The annual program budget ranges from $40,000 to $50,000.  The Marcy Arts Partnership strives to leverage funding, creating a vibrant mix of funding and program activities that have a widespread impact at the school and in the community.  The funds are used for artist residencies, for professional development, for curriculum development and for equipment and technical resource development intended to integrate the arts into the entire school.