It's not just about availability - students deserve high quality arts learning opportunities, too. This is something arts education advocates and arts educators alike can agree on.

It's these commonalities - passion, vision and personal values that are at the heart of the advocacy effort to ensure arts learning opportunities are not just available, but are "quality" learning experiences.

But there are differences in how we define high quality learning experiences, what indicators of success are and who should play what role in delivering arts education.

General educators, arts specialists, and teaching artists can all provide quality arts learning opportunities. Their unique perspectives and personal values add depth to the lessons they teach and can facilitate student engagement. If they work together, students will receive a well-rounded high quality education that infuses the arts.

Recent surveys from the New York Arts in Education Roundtable show that teaching artists may be more prevalent in New York Public Schools than arts specialists. Similarly, reports cite steep cuts in arts specialists' positions in California, as finances are drained. Though the No Child Left Behind Act stipulates that arts specialists are best qualified to deliver arts learning, they are simply not making the cut when it comes down to the budget. Some find that teaching artists can actually offer a more authentic experience and connection to the arts, but often they are in schools only for a short time. Arts education needs to be an ongoing experience to be considered high quality.

At the end of the day, it's important that arts educators are as passionate about arts learning as arts education advocates. This shared passion drives the vision for delivering quality. The arts are about engaging and sharing ideas, so let's work together to ensure that we keep quality arts experiences in schools.

Labels: arts learning, arts specialists, quality education, teaching artists