September 11-17 is Arts in Education Week
This week marks the second annual Arts in Education Week. In July of 2010 the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution designating the second week of September as “Arts in Education Week” to promote and showcase the immense role arts education has in producing engaged, successful, and college and career-ready students.
Throughout the week, the Arizona Commission on the Arts will highlight current arts learning news and resources on the AZarts417 blog; we hope you’ll tune in to learn more.
For more information on Arts in Education Week and how you can get involved, see the Arts Education Partnership blog, reposted below.
A National Spotlight for Arts Education
In July of 2010 the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution designating the second week of September as “Arts in Education Week.” The resolution (H.Con.Res. 275) was proposed and introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier from California.
The resolution states: [...] Arts education, comprising a rich array of disciplines including dance, music, theatre, media arts, literature, design, and visual arts, is a core academic subject and an essential element of a complete and balanced education for all students.
Click here to read the full resolution. Read statements made by congressmen on the House floor regarding arts education here.
In May of 2011 arts education was again given a national spotlight with the release of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities report Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools.
The culmination of 18 months of research, meetings with stakeholders, and site visits all over the country, this report represents an in-depth review of the current condition of arts education, including an update of the current research base about arts education outcomes, and an analysis of the challenges and opportunities in the field that have emerged over the past decade. It also includes a set of recommendations to federal, state and local policymakers.
You can access the report HERE.
Get Involved!
Get the facts about arts education in your community
What are the policies for including arts in education in your state? Visit the AEP Arts Education State Policy Database to find out. This searchable database contains the latest information on arts education state policies and practices. Since 1999, AEP has gathered these data through an annual survey of arts education personnel in state education agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.Find out what is happening in your community, district and schools. Do you know how often students receive arts education in your community, if at all? What kinds of arts are taught? Are there any arts integration programs impacting learning in other subjects? Get the answers to these and other questions by contacting the teachers, principals, superintendents or even the students in your community.
What School Leaders Can Do To Increase Arts Education
In a time of shrinking budgets and shifting priorities, what can school principals do to make and keep the arts strong in their schools? This brochure-length guide, prepared by the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) with support from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) offers three concrete actions school principals can take to increase arts education in their schools. Each action is supported with several low-cost or no-cost strategies that other school leaders have used and found to be effective.You can access the guide HERE.
Support the arts in your community
Show your support for arts, education, and the creative economy at work in your community. Participation in the arts, either by seeing a show or exhibit or by donating to your local arts organizations, is the easiest and most visible way to show your support for the arts and the importance of the arts in a child’s education.**Donate to your local arts organization
**Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper in support of arts education
**Participate in the arts in your community, see a show or student exhibit, visit a museum, or take an art class
**Take an arts educator out to coffee to thank them for their hard work
