William E. Strickland Jr.'s life changed when he first saw art teacher Frank Ross at the potter's wheel in an Oliver High School classroom.

Mr. Strickland hopes a partnership between the Pittsburgh Public Schools and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, an organization the Oliver alumnus founded in 1968, will hook other students on art and help them thrive in school.

Mr. Strickland and school Superintendent Mark Roosevelt last night unveiled a program to more fully integrate the creative and performing arts into the curriculum at Helen S. Faison Arts Academy in Homewood. In the fall, the elementary school will open a second building and expand to include sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

"We know that kids that get excited about the arts get better at everything," Mr. Roosevelt said during a community celebration at Faison, opened two years ago in one of the city's most troubled neighborhoods. He predicted the arts-based curriculum would help to turn Faison, with its high rate of student poverty and low test scores, into a flagship school.

The Manchester Craftsmen's Guild landed a three-year, $900,000 grant to pay for the program, called a "reform model" because it's an experiment for overhauling the low-performing school.

Mr. Roosevelt is bringing another turnaround program, the America's Choice package of teaching strategies and curriculum offerings, to eight other schools.

The district also has Rogers Middle School and Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. The magnet schools allow students to explore individual artistic interests while completing an academic program.

Faison will remain a neighborhood school, so it can benefit Homewood children exclusively. Magnet schools draw students from around the city.

Craftsmen's Guild artists and programs have had a presence in city schools for more than 30 years, but Mr. Roosevelt said the new venture "represents a deepening of the relationship."

"They're making themselves sort of co-responsible for the school, and I think over time we're going to see more of this kind of partnership, not just in Pittsburgh but everywhere," Mr. Roosevelt said.

While art already plays an important role at Faison, the new program weaves it more fully into the curriculum. Art projects will be used to help students grasp lessons in other content areas, said Joanna Papada, the guild's vice president of operations.

In math class, she said, students may use measuring skills to turn fabric into seat covers. They may photograph and interview local civil rights leaders for a social studies lesson. In science class, they may use software animation programs to explore the power of tornados.

Faison's students scored below district and state averages in reading and math last year. Officials expect scores to rise with the arts-based program.

Ms. Papada said Mr. Strickland better understood high school chemistry after learning how to make pottery glazes. Mr. Strickland credits art, and Mr. Ross' friendship, with keeping him out of trouble.

"So this is not theory ... I'm telling you what I know and what is possible for these children," he said.