What our parents have to say

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The mission of Rio Grande Academy of Fine Arts (RioGAFA) is to educate students through an arts-integration curriculum that promotes problem solving and creativity and supports all K-12 students to achieve grade-level standards.

Arts integration is a student-centered approach to teaching and learning in which the arts and academic content are intentionally combined to deepen understanding, develop skills, and demonstrate mastery. RioGAFA will achieve our mission by using the arts as a vehicle to learn in all content areas. We define the arts as creative writing, culinary, dance, drama, media, music, and visual arts.

The vision of Rio Grande Academy of Fine Arts (RioGAFA) is to develop an environment that will encourage and engage creative minds through a rigorous, arts-integrated, and arts-enhanced curriculum that will inspire and empower students to become independent, creative, and problem-solving thinkers. Learning will be provided in both the arts and through the arts. RioGAFA is the first school of its kind that will be academically rigorous while students will be learning and demonstrating their skill acquisition through multiple art forms. 

At RioGAFA, the arts are not an add on, they are a vital part of how students learn. We intentionally blend creativity with rigorous academics, connecting New Mexico and Common Core academic standards and National Core Arts Standards through visual, performing, culinary, creative writing, and media arts. Students build skills, broaden cultural understanding, and deepen learning while developing the communication, collaboration, and critical-thinking skills needed for the future.

Led by talented local artists and RioGAFA educators, Artistry Block gives students 60 minutes each day to dive into performing and visual art forms. With a new art and creative focus each day and schedules that rotate quarterly, students might find themselves painting one day, learning ukulele the next, or exploring hip hop, sewing, culinary arts, recycled fashion, or drama. We build in opportunities for choice for students 3rd grade and up, making creativity personal, exciting, and ever-changing.