ABOUT US

Cultivating Critical Thinkers and Creative Leaders

The Fairfax Arts Coalition for Education stands as a dedicated non-profit organization focused entirely on elevating the educational experience across Fairfax County by seamlessly integrating the arts into core academic curricula. We exist to close the gap between conventional instruction and the dynamic needs of a 21st-century workforce that demands innovation, emotional intelligence, and collaborative capacity. Our approach is holistic, moving beyond simple after-school electives to fundamentally reshape how students process information, solve complex problems, and communicate ideas. By organizing high-impact, sustained workshops, collaborative residencies, and public-facing community arts events, we ensure that the benefits of artistic expression—such as enhanced observational skills, improved focus, and non-verbal communication proficiency—are made accessible to every student and educator, regardless of their background or previous artistic experience. We are governed by a passionate board of directors, comprised of educators, professional artists, business leaders, and parents, all united by the singular vision of making arts education a pervasive and sustainable force for good in our region.

Our Story

A Legacy of Creativity and Commitment

The Fairfax Arts Coalition for Education (FACE) was originally conceived in 2012 by a dedicated collective of Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) educators, professional musicians, and civic-minded parents who recognized a critical, unmet need: the profound benefits of rigorous arts education were not being equitably distributed across the county, and the essential connection between the arts and cognitive development was often undervalued. They observed that while many schools offered traditional electives, there was a lack of sustained, cross-curricular programming that genuinely used artistic methodologies to enhance core subject mastery, particularly in underserved communities. This founding group was driven by the conviction that creativity is an inherent human right and a powerful socioeconomic equalizer, forming the organization with the initial goal of piloting three interdisciplinary programs designed to prove the measurable impact of arts integration on student engagement and academic performance. The initial seed funding, raised through grassroots efforts and a small local grant, allowed the Coalition to establish its first artist-in-residence program, focusing on using dramatic storytelling techniques to improve literacy scores in middle school students, thereby laying the philosophical and practical groundwork for all future endeavors.

What We Do

Empowering the Next Generation of Innovators

At FACE, our program structure is meticulously designed to offer comprehensive, multi-disciplinary arts integration that is tailored to specific developmental and academic goals across all grade levels, ensuring a sustained and meaningful engagement with the arts throughout a student’s educational journey. We operate three core types of programs: in-school artist residencies, which embed a professional artist directly into a classroom for 6-12 weeks to co-teach academic subjects; professional development workshops for educators, which equip teachers with practical arts-integration strategies for their own curricula; and community collaboration projects, such as public art installations and open-access workshops that bring students, families, and artists together in shared creative experiences. Whether a student is learning about civil rights through dramatic improvisation and historical role-playing, or exploring the principles of physics by designing and building kinetic sculptures, our programming ensures that the arts serve as the most engaging medium for deep intellectual understanding and the development of essential executive functions, including planning, execution, and reflective critique.