Working with A. Cuthbertson Consulting
Helping leaders make culturally responsive practice visible and measurable in their arts programs.
What this work is about
You already know the arts matter. You see it every day in your arts teachers’ classrooms, in what students carry with them, and in the way arts learning opens doors that nothing else quite does.
What I help you do is make that visible.
Not just believable. Not just feelable. Pointable-to.
When arts educators can articulate and demonstrate exactly what culturally responsive, equity-centered practice looks like in their classrooms, something shifts. Teachers teach with more intention. Students experience belonging as something real, not just a vibe. Leaders have the language, the evidence, and the data to show what great arts education actually produces for kids.
That is what making culturally responsive practice visible means. And that is the work I partner with districts, Educational Service Agencies, and arts organizations to build.
Want to understand the frameworks behind this work? Download the ACC overview.
Where are you right now?
The best starting point depends on where your team is. Read through the three paths below and find the one that sounds most like your situation. Then book a discovery call and we’ll take it from there.
PATH 1
Path 1: We’re building a shared foundation.
You want your arts teachers to have a common language around culturally responsive teaching. Your team may be new to this work, or you want to introduce the framework before committing to a longer arc of learning. You need a starting point that creates a shared experience and opens the door for what your team decides comes next.
MOST COMMON STARTING POINT
Music As a Vehicle® Book Talk
A 90-minute, discussion-based professional learning session grounded in the four pillars of the Music As a Vehicle® framework, with bulk copies of the book included for every participant.
Your team will leave with a clear picture of what culturally responsive arts practice looks like in action, a shared vocabulary across all four pillars of the framework, signature tools they can put to use immediately in their classrooms, and concrete next steps tailored to their classroom reality. The book talk surfaces where your teachers want to go deeper, giving you a clear, evidence-based picture of where the highest-leverage opportunities are for your team.
The book talk is designed for K-12 music and arts teams. The framework originated in music, but the four pillars apply across arts disciplines. Visual art, theater, dance, and media arts educators get just as much out of the session and the book.
Most of my partnerships begin here.
Investment: $5,000 all-inclusive (includes books for up to 50 participants).
REFLECTIVE STARTING POINT
Music As a Vehicle® Book Study
A four-session, facilitated experience where your arts team reads Music As a Vehicle® together, builds shared language, and builds a concrete plan for bringing what they’ve learned into their classrooms.
This is not your average book study! Participants don’t just read and discuss. They leave with a written implementation plan that maps the framework’s core concepts to their specific teaching context, along with clear indicators for how they’ll measure its impact. The work is grounded in their discipline, their students, and their actual classroom realities, so teachers aren’t left figuring out how to translate what they’ve learned on their own.
The book study is the right fit when your team benefits from guided reflection and dialogue alongside the reading, or when you want to build collective understanding before moving into more intensive practice-based work. No prior experience with the framework required.
Format: Virtual, live-facilitated by the author. Four 90-minute sessions over four weeks. Includes a study guide with discussion and reflection prompts, author facilitation throughout, and personalized feedback on each participant’s implementation plan.
Book purchases can be bundled or purchased separately.
Book a discovery call to learn more and discuss investment.
↓ This sounds like us!
PATH 2
Path 2: We have a direction. We’re ready to go deeper.
Your arts team already has familiarity with culturally responsive teaching and equity-centered practices. You know the specific area of practice you want to focus on, or you’re ready for a more sustained arc of professional learning, not another “one and done” that doesn’t move the needle. You want your teachers doing the work, not just hearing about it, and you want them to leave with tools they can implement right away, without having to figure out on their own how to make it work in an arts classroom.
All programs in this path are built on our proprietary professional learning curriculum grounded in the Arts as a Vehicle® framework and developed specifically for K-12 arts educators across disciplines. Every session is designed so that arts teachers receive actionable steps and practical tools built for their context. There is no generic PD to translate.
Our professional learning programs are designed to produce results arts teachers can use right away. Here’s what participants in recent programs reported:
• 92.7% said the learning will have a positive impact on their students.
• 90.2% said they left with tools they can implement immediately in their classrooms.
FOCUSED, PRACTICE-BASED WORK
Arts as a Vehicle™ Workshop Intensives
A focused professional learning experience built around one specific pillar of the Arts as a Vehicle™ framework. Intensives are for teams that have a clear priority and are ready to move from awareness to hands-on, actionable practice.
This is not a sit-and-get. Participants engage directly with the content, practice culturally responsive instructional moves in their discipline, and leave with tools and strategies they can bring back to their classrooms immediately. Everything is grounded in arts-specific contexts, so teachers aren’t left trying to adapt generic frameworks to their room.
Intensives are typically delivered as a series of three to four sessions over several weeks, allowing time for practice and reflection between sessions. For teams that need a concentrated, high-impact experience, a full-day intensive is also available. Format and pacing are determined collaboratively based on your goals and calendar.
Available intensive topics include:
• Mindset for Equity in Arts Education
• Cultivating Affirming Arts Learning Environments
• Diverse Content & Arts Materials
• Real-World Curriculum & Instruction for Learner Variability
Each intensive can stand alone or build on a prior starting point. Available for single-discipline arts teams and cross-disciplinary arts programs.
Book a discovery call to learn more and discuss investment.
COMPREHENSIVE, PRACTICE-BASED SERIES
Arts as a Vehicle™ Pathways Program
A six-session professional learning series that takes arts educators through the full Arts as a Vehicle™ framework, with guided practice and application at every stage.
The program begins with a live demonstration lesson where participants experience a culturally responsive arts lesson as learners. That shared experience becomes the anchor for everything that follows. Across six sessions, participants unpack each pillar of the framework, practice instructional moves in their own discipline, design and refine culturally responsive learning experiences, and share and reflect on their work with peers. Teachers leave each session with concrete next steps and tools built for arts classrooms, so the implementation work begins right away.
This is the right fit for teams that want a coherent, high-impact arc of professional learning, not a series of disconnected workshops. Available for single-discipline arts teams and cross-disciplinary arts programs.
Format: In-person or hybrid. Six 120-minute sessions over 6 to 12 weeks.
Investment: starts at $25,000.
↓ This sounds like us!
PATH 3
Path 3: We want this to last.
You’re not just looking for good professional development. You want the work to compound. You want teachers who can articulate and demonstrate their practice, a program with clear evidence of what it produces for students, and a leadership infrastructure that sustains the work beyond any single initiative. You’re ready for a long-term thinking partner.
MULTI-YEAR SYSTEMS-LEVEL PARTNERSHIP
Reimagine Partnership
A sustained, strategic partnership built around the full Reimagine framework: establishing a clear baseline, creating a strategic plan, implementing alongside your team, monitoring progress, and building the conditions that make the work last long-term.
This is not a package. The structure is determined by your goals, your team’s readiness, and where you are in the work. Some partnerships center on professional learning. Others address curriculum, program structure, or leadership development alongside it. We figure out the right combination together.
This is for the leader who wants to build something that sustains beyond the initiative that started it.
Book a discovery call to learn more and discuss scope and investment.
FOCUSED ADVISORY AND CONSULTING SUPPORT
Strategy Sessions & Strategic Advisement
Targeted support for leaders and arts leadership teams navigating a specific challenge or decision. This includes curriculum development (audit, collaborative support, or done-for-you creation), program evaluations and equity audits, and ongoing strategic advisement for arts leaders and leadership teams.
If you’re not sure whether this is the right fit, a discovery call is the right next step.
↓ This sounds like us!
COMING SOON
Responsive Arts Educator Library
A self-service professional learning licensing package for K-12 arts teams. Your team gets access to the Arts as a Vehicle™ asynchronous module library, with everything your teacher leaders need to facilitate high-quality, arts-specific professional learning on your own calendar. Every module is built for arts educators, so teachers engage with content that speaks directly to their discipline and their students. Live support is available as an add-on.
Interested in early access? Join the interest list to be notified when this launches.
Not sure which path fits your team?
That’s what the discovery call is for! You don’t need to have it figured out before you reach out. Book a call and we’ll talk through where your team is, what you’re working toward, and what kind of support makes the most sense.
