Arts educators/leaders have a unique opportunity to broaden their professional acumen, seize the "A" for art in STEAM, and be recognized as partners in the shift toward inclusive, transdisciplinary learning environments. Partnerships can blossom in school settings among teachers interested in giving students broad and well rounded learning platforms, inclusive of arts integration. Ideally, partnerships and the disposition toward partnering should happen in the preservice realm, when students are nurturing skills necessary for teaching, that can foster meaningful educator collaboration. As art educators employed in schools, they can reach out to other educators and bridge learning within school settings. If working in the community, arts educators can partner with organizations and schools to realize the potential for the "A" as a component for actionable programming. STEAM can provide a platform of opportunity for leadership and facilitation of vital content that translates across disciplinary distinctions. STEAM can shift the paradigm of the arts from "nice to have" to "need to have". Making the "A" a partner in STEM inserts the arts as an essential agent into what mindful arts integration can and should be.