Gettysburg College is home to the Leonard Bernstein Center for Learning, a national force in K-12 education reform whose Artful Learning method uses the arts as a focal point for teaching and learning in all academic subjects.

The Bernstein Center and Artful Learning were inspired by the great American composer Leonard Bernstein and his vision that music and the arts could be used to improve academic achievement, increase student engagement, and instill a love of learning.

A national program with strong results

Artful Learning has been used in more than 40 school curriculums around the country with strong results. Students have shown improvements in reading, language arts, and mathematics, as well as in such areas as creativity and self-esteem. The program is the only arts-based school reform model endorsed by New American Schools, a national nonprofit organization committed to the improvement of K-12 education.

A shared commitment to integrative thinking

The Center moved to the College in the fall of 2005 after a six-year association with the GRAMMY Foundation. The move to Gettysburg places the Center at a leading liberal arts college that shares its commitment to the arts, to interdisciplinary learning, and to integrative thinking that combines knowledge from different areas of inquiry to lead students to new levels of understanding.