Kalamazoo RESA’s Education for the Arts (EFA) program is rooted in a unanimous desire of the nine public school districts in Kalamazoo County to make arts education a learning and teaching priority. EFA’s mission is to enhance arts education for all K-12 and special education students in Kalamazoo County by making dance, music, theater, literary arts, media arts, and visual arts an essential part of comprehensive education.
Since 1994, EFA has provided the more than 100 public and private schools within the Kalamazoo RESA service area a diversity of free arts education programs. All EFA initiatives are designed to complement and enhance, not replace, existing arts programming or arts specialists in the schools.
Eligibility Information
EFA programs are available to K-12 and special education students within the districts of Climax-Scotts Community Schools, Comstock Public Schools, Galesburg Augusta Community Schools, Gull Lake Community Schools, Kalamazoo Public Schools, Parchment School District, Portage Public Schools, Schoolcraft Community Schools, and Vicksburg Community Schools. Arts education opportunities also are available to private schools that opt-in to EFA programs.
EFA Teaching Artist Residency Programs
EFA’s professional Teaching Artists partner with classroom educators to engage students in short-term in-school residencies. More than thirty Teaching Artists provide residencies through three EFA programs, each with a distinct arts education focus.
Aesthetic Education Program
Aesthetic Education (AE) is a learner-centered, discovery-based curricular program that helps K-8 students make meaning of aesthetic experience by putting the artwork at the center of study. AE develops analytical and critical thinking skills in students through hands-on art-making activities, reflective questioning, and contextual information and research. MORE
Alternative Arts Initiative
The Alternative Arts Initiative (AAI) provides opportunities for special education students and students in non-traditional education settings to engage with the arts. Teaching Artists collaborate with educators to design specialized residencies for students to apply the creative process in the development and exhibition of their own work. To expand and deepen these artistic experiences, the Teaching Artists guide students through the viewing and responding to professional works of art. MORE
PACE Program
Explore! Create! Perform! The PACE Program engages K-8 students in creative movement and creative drama residencies that spark imagination and personal expression. Residencies teach the elements of the art form, emphasize artistic exploration and the creative process, and celebrate the students’ creative work. To deepen the students’ understanding and inspire their own original work, PACE classes have the option of attending a free professional dance or theater performance. MORE
Other EFA Programs
Bus Transportation Rebate
Since 2003, EFA has provided a partial bus transportation rebate for students attending fine arts and cultural events occurring in Kalamazoo County. The rebate program supports the attendance of more than 20,000 students annually at arts education events presented by EFA and select community partners. Schools contribute a flat rate of $25 per bus round-trip and EFA reimburses the balance at the end of the school year. MORE
EFA Presents! Ticket Program
Featuring artists from Nova Scotia to Hawaii and Miami to Minneapolis, EFA Presents! provides K-12 schools with easy access to performances and visual arts exhibitions from around the world. These acclaimed works of art are available to schools at little to no cost, depending on student grade level and the individual work of art. EFA includes an education guide and a K-8 bus transportation rebate to assist with field trip expenses. MORE
Excellence in the Arts High School Courses
EFA provides students in grades 9-12 the opportunity to explore the depth of their artistic abilities while earning high school credit. Each course is designed to guide students in developing and enhancing their artistic skills. Students work with professional artists and arts teachers in intensive classes at sites around the county, including in-school programs and classes offered in professional artist studios and performance spaces. MORE
Grants and Scholarships
With support from the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, EFA awards up to $205,000 annually in grants and scholarships to help fund and enhance arts initiatives for Kalamazoo County students, schools, and educators. Available grants include artistic project grants for schools, artistic development grants for educators, student arts scholarships, and student artistic equipment grants. MORE
The Arts and Belonging: Our Commitment
Education for the Arts aligns with Kalamazoo RESA’s commitment to cultivating a positive, welcoming, safe, and inclusive environment for all. We strive to embody our core values of collaboration, innovation, compassion, integrity, and respect; principles woven into all of EFA’s work. MORE
Employment Opportunities
EFA is seeking dynamic, creative, and highly-motivated part-time Teaching Artists in Dance, Music, Theater, and Visual Arts. Teaching Artists work in collaboration with educators to create inquiry-based, experiential workshops in the performing and visual arts in classrooms throughout Kalamazoo County. MORE
Memberships
EFA is a proud member of the following organizations:
Image: EFA high school Dance class performance featuring Kalamazoo Loy Norrix students, 2026. Photo (detail) by Herbert Todd Photography.
