Arts + Academics = Success
Hugh Goodwin Academy for the Arts is a special place - a public school that seeks out, nurtures, and celebrates the best and brightest in EVERY child; a public school that combines daily arts instruction with academic subjects to boost self-confidence and achievement.
The Arkansas A+ Arts program is built on the principle that every child learns better if the whole being is engaged - mind, body, and spirit. That means developing lessons that stimulate and challenge a child. The A+ program also believes that the best way to engage the whole child is by teaching arts every day, along with reading, writing, arithmetic, science, and social studies. This "interdisciplinary approach", featuring daily arts instruction makes Hugh Goodwin a special place. It provides teachers multiple opportunities each day to recognize the special skills and learning styles of every student.
There are only 10 A+ Arts Schools in Arkansas and the only one in South Arkansas is Hugh Goodwin Academy for the Arts. That's what Hugh Goodwin is all about these days - the magic of the A+ Arts program taking root in El Dorado, energizing students with the simple thrill of learning in ways many of them have never experienced before . . . at least not in school . . . at least not every day. For more information about the Arkansas A+ Schools Network, you can follow this link to their website: http://www.aplusnetwork.org/.
How are you smart?
The Hugh Goodwin A+ program is clearly different from other elementary schools, not only in El Dorado, but throughout South Arkansas. At Hugh Goodwin, we don't ask, "How smart are you?" Instead, we ask, "How are you smart?" And that makes all the difference. At Hugh Goodwin the curriculum addresses eight intelligences we all have in some degree.
Linguistic (Word Smart) - think in words; love reading, writing, and telling stories
Logical-Mathematical (Number Smart) - think by reasoning; love experimenting, questioning, and calculating
Spatial (Art Smart) - think in images and pictures; love designing, drawing, and doodling
Bodily-Kinesthetic (Body Smart) - think through physical sensations; love dancing, running, jumping, building, and touching
Musical (Music Smart) - think through rhythms and melodies; love singing, whistling, humming, listening, and tapping feet and hands
Interpersonal (People Smart) - think by bouncing ideas off other people; love leading, organizing groups and activities, mediating, and social gatherings
Intrapersonal (Self Smart) - think deeply inside themselves; love setting goals, dreaming, being quiet, planning, and meditating
Naturalist (Nature Smart) - think in terms of nature; love working in nature, exploring living things, and learning about plants and natural events