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Arts Advocates Take it to Washington
Hundreds of arts advocates, artists, arts administrators and students from across the country took to the halls of Congress to make the case for arts education during the 23rd Annual National Arts Advocacy Day 2010. The 2-day convening at the nation's capitol gave supporters the opportunity to take action at the highest level for federal policy changes, increased funding for the arts, and integration of arts in education reform. For highlights of the federal Arts Advocacy Day visit Americans for the Arts. But, remember advocating for the arts is an ongoing activity and starts in your community. Check out our Winning School Board Support for Arts Learning toolkit to learn how to advocate and influence decision makers on the importance of arts and culture to quality education and community life.

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Picture Perfect Planet
Second graders at the Davis Magnet School had the unique opportunity to safely explore the streets of their neighborhood in Jackson, Mississippi through a camera lens. The JumpstART project spearheaded by photographer and author, Sarah Campbell, allowed students to visit six places in their neighborhood with cameras, capture pictures and interview locals, then select photographs that best reflected a story they wanted to tell about the people they share the planet with...those in their neighborhood.


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Advocacy on ESEA
Advocates for arts education have learned a great deal from the recent debate over health care reform, which was revised due to a very public legislative process and controversial public opinion claims. To increase federal commitment behind arts education, arts stakeholders have been in debate and discussions with Congress to get a clear and shared understanding about what education is and what are the ultimate goals for the children of our nation. Leading organizations have offered specific recommendations and are seeking changes to the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to strengthen provisions for increased funding, research and reporting in arts education, as well as recognition of the arts as a core academic subject.

Opening a New Door: The Arts and Federal Education Policy
Advocates for a well-rounded education have long been concerned that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) guidelines have increased focus on standardized tests for math and English at the exclusion of learning in all core subjects, like the arts. Take heart! We are cautiously optimistic about the direction the Obama administration is taking to include arts learning in A Blueprint for Reform, recently released to guide the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently referred to as NCLB. According to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, the Blueprint allows states to use subjects other than reading and mathematics as part of their measurements for meeting federal goals. The new plan will continue to test children, but also provide a comprehensive curriculum that includes arts, history, science, social studies, and other important subjects to insure students are on the path to college and career readiness. Discussion is kicking off now and Congress is asking for your opinion so hurry, this deadline is March 26th. But, remember there are opportunities every day to keep arts in schools!

New Guide Helps Advocates Expand Arts Learning
The California State PTA has partnered with the California County Superintendents Arts Initiative to create a guidebook for partners, teachers, school board members and administrators to grow arts education in public schools. Follow specific action steps outlined in this guide.

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Voices of Innovation
Jennifer Mello lobbies on behalf of groups like Arts for Colorado, and other important organizations. She has the inside scoop on what works -- and what doesn't -- when it comes to reaching legislators. Read her advice to ensure your campaigns are as effective as possible.

In case you missed it...

State of Change: New Leadership in Arts and Education
It's not too late to register for Arts Education Partnership's national forum coming to Washington, D.C. this April. This year's focus is on new leadership at the federal level and the next generation of leaders.
Read the program information and register today.

Winning School Board Support for Arts Learning
Want to get your school board behind your effort? Our latest toolkit, Winning School Board Support for Arts Learning has ideas, examples, tools and resources for effective engagement of your school leaders.

Labels: arts education

The House Committee on Education and Labor is Rewriting No Child Left Behind. This is an incredible opportunity for stakeholders to have an impact on education reform. Please email your legislators to register your opinion and/or ideas. Deadline for opinions is March 26th.

Even as California municipalities face arguably the bleakest budget season ever, arts education advocates can take inspiration from LA arts defenders who warded off a proposal to erase the city council's $4 million grants program. As reported in the Los Angeles Times:

"The LA City council heard from more than 30 speakers who decried the proposed arts cuts. Scores of others looked on in the council chamber, many sporting red stick-on badges provided by the Arts for LA advocacy group, which during the days before the meeting had led an e-mail campaign opposing gutting arts programs to help bridge a projected two-year budget gap of nearly $700 million."

Take heart! Organized, impassioned advocacy of only a few dozen people can make a huge impact. Advocates in LA explained how by eliminating arts grants the city "risked losing part of its civic soul," pointed out economic arguments and the critically important role the arts play for youth and thriving communities.

We know school districts, counties, cities and states all over this country face terrible decisions as we struggle to emerge from this economic downturn. And the LA arts will likely suffer some reduction of support, but they have already won a victory and set a fine example for us all.

Arts Education Advocates Feel the "glee!"

When co-creator of "glee" Ryan Murphy accepted the Golden Globe's Best TV Comedy Series award, he said "This show is about a lot of things; it's about the importance of arts education." Listen up schools across America because Murphy and advocates like you have something to say!

Are your local education leaders doing enough to ensure arts learning thrives in the district? Do they need you to show up and support them so they can? Your local school board members have big power to shape a well-rounded education infused with the arts.

Just as school boards across the country are preparing their priorities for the next school year, keepartsinschools.org is launching: School Board Support for Arts Learning: A Toolkit for Action.

Just a click away you'll find:

-Compelling data and research to make your case using evidence
-Easy to use tools for harnessing the power of persuasion and using powerful messages
-Voices of experts from around the country
-Ideas, activities and inspiration to fuel your advocacy efforts

This is the third is a series of toolkits created to put tools in your hands to make the case for arts learning as an essential component of a quality education.

So speak up, pass it on, and tell us what you're doing to keep arts in schools!

P.S. And, click here to share in the "glee."

With 1.7 million public school students spread throughout 4,061 square miles in 81 school districts, Los Angeles County is daunting in geography, demographics, and size. To enact arts education reform across one school district is difficult. To enact arts education reform across 81 is Herculean.

Yet that is precisely what Arts for All: LA County Regional Blueprint for Arts Education is doing. It is a strategic plan restoring rigorous, sequential K-12 arts education to every public school student in the County. Its primary strategy is building infrastructure at the school district level: a Board-approved arts education policy and plan, district-wide Arts Coordinator, 5% of general fund dollars for the arts, and a student to credentialed art teacher ratio of no more than 400:1.

Seven years have passed since the initiative's launch. Each year deepens our learning about how to best achieve the goals of the Blueprint. The recently released Arts for All: The Vanguard Districts - Case Studies from the First Five Years grew out of a need for us to take a step back and learn from what was happening within our school districts. Up until that point the initiative was driven by a set of assumptions, including that supporting school districts to engage in community-wide planning for arts education is the key to restoring it to all children, and that building arts education infrastructure is the key to sustaining it through difficult economic circumstances.

The report reveals the strengths and weaknesses of those assumptions. It illustrates that while arts education infrastructure is indeed fundamental, support for school districts cannot end with the close of the planning process. The report also emphasizes that the planning process, and the written, Board-adopted policies and plans that result, is critical - more so than we originally anticipated. The higher the quality of the arts education plan, the more progress made on the ground, and vice versa.

As of this writing, Arts for All is in active partnership with 39 of the 81 school districts in the County. Facing draconian budget cuts, not a single Arts for All school district retreated from its arts education plans. Most committed to maintaining their programs. Some looked the recession square in the eye and chose to take their efforts a step further.

Such success has affirmed many of our strategies. The results of the report has prompted us to rethink others, and led us toward developing new programs. Earlier this year we launched a Leadership Fellows Program for Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents to deepen their understanding of quality arts learning and their roles in moving it forward. We are also offering professional development opportunities for Arts Coordinators, providing community advocacy training, and creating indicators to define and measure quality, access, and equity of arts education in schools. In the coming months we will continue to refine and expand the planning services we offer new Arts for All school districts.

We didn't anticipate any of these strategies when the Blueprint was adopted seven years ago. When these new efforts are assessed, the results will likely lead us in directions that we can't imagine today. Arts for All: The Vanguard Districts - Case Studies from the First Five Years emphasizes the incredibly dynamic nature of this work. It documents sustained, long-term, and large-scale strategies that expand, shift and adjust, all to make quality arts education present in the lives of the 1.7 million students living within Los Angeles County.

-Ayanna Hudson, Director of Arts Education, Arts for All, and Talia Gibas, Arts Education Coordinator, Arts for All, Los Angeles County Arts Commission

Sometimes, hearing it from the horse's mouth is the best way to make the case for arts in the schools. That is what one 6th Grader Joshua Delk from Cleveland School of the Arts proved when he spoke at recent Cleveland Board of Education meeting about why the arts are important. The student emphasized the need for the arts to balance out the school day. Seeing a young student stand behind a podium and speak out about what he believes is a powerful image. Some stories are best told from the voice of those affected.

That's why so many advocates have taken to the blogosphere to find their own podium (and audience) to voice their opinion to. Recent research shows parents, political figures and educators are turning to the Web to voice their opinion on arts learning and education reform. With these groups serving as role models to young advocates, it's no wonder Delk was empowered to speak out on behalf of his fellow classmates who understand that a quality education must include the arts.