This study examines the experiences of educators teaching in and through the arts as they participate in various arts-centered forms of professional development. In particular, the study asks how arts-centered practices promote educator confidence, competence and resilience for teaching in large urban districts. Drawing on the work of Ellsworth (2005), Heath (2014), Marshall & Donohue (2014), and Cosier (2012), the paper uses a Teachers' Life Histories (Goodson, 2008) approach along with Mediated Discourse Analysis (Norris & Jones, 2005) to analyze the learning experiences, dispositions and curriculum design practices of educators teaching in and through the arts. Preliminary findings reveal that arts-centered programming can promote professional growth for educators in terms of their confidence and competence teaching in and through the arts, but that deep relationships with program participants are needed in order to meet the needs of individuals and teacher cohorts. Fields of emergence for learning within this study provide insights on how teacher educators might successfully design and facilitate arts-centered experiences within teacher preparation and professional development programs to prepare educators as change makers ready to provide historically underserved urban K-12 students with quality learning experiences in and through the arts.