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OnlineColleges.net offers digests and links to ten recent studies about the impact of arts in education. Reports by research organizations, college professors and school districts themselves reveal the power of art to inspire, motivate and educate today’s students." Read the studies.
No sooner did we finish writing a handbook for our Local Advocacy Network (affectionately named the LANBook), then new challenges emerged from the work being done on the ground. Three years into the project, we are twenty-five coalitions strong and, as more and more communities join our statewide network, they bring unique circumstances that generate new strategies. From South Bay to San Jose, here are some of the approaches advocates are using to support arts education in local schools:
“Building Community, Making Space for Art,” new study released in October by Maria Rosario Jackson of the Urban Institute, sheds new light on the relationship between “dimensions of cultural vitality” and “economic development, attachment to place, positive health outcomes, and civic engagement, among other desirable impacts.” The research parses the kinds of organizations and activities that contribute most to community revitalization. Read more.
No sooner did we finish writing a handbook for our Local Advocacy Network (affectionately named the LANBook), then new challenges emerged from the work being done on the ground. Three years into the project, we are twenty-five coalitions strong and, as more and more communities join our statewide network, they bring unique circumstances that generate new strategies. From South Bay to San Jose, here are some of the approaches advocates are using to support arts education in local schools:
We were just going to make a few changes to our website. Add a new section about local advocacy. Simplify our action center. And then, as often happens when you begin adding new elements to something, the whole thing changed.
As we explored questions about goals and possibilities, the scope of the project grew. We discovered new web platforms that made it easy to add new elements and content. We heard from local advocates and stakeholders like you that you wanted easy ways to participate online and to find the research and tools you need to make the case for arts education in your community.
So today we launch a fully re-designed website! Here are some of the things it can do:
On July 10, 2010, a Newsweek headline provocatively proclaimed that the United States was in “The Creativity Crisis,” citing evidence that shows for the first time in 50 years, American creativity is on the decline. In a global economy where innovation drives prosperity, the United States faces increasing competition from around the world in maintaining its competitiveness. Business, education, and community leaders believe that education is core to whether our young people and workers will be prepared to meet these economic challenges. The 2010 National Arts Policy Roundtable, The Role of the Arts in Educating America for Great Leadership and Economic Strength, focused on the role of the arts in answering the national imperative to improve education in order to meet the global challenges we face. Read their recommendations
It’s well-known that a well-developed arts education teaches communications skills, teamwork, problem solving, responsibility, and the ability to adapt to change. According to Sarah Murr, Arts Education and an Innovative Workforce, all of these skills are considered critical by Boeing for its highly skilled workforce. However, tight state budgets and a lack of appreciation for what an arts education provides a young mind, and subsequently an adult mind, have resulted in the abandonment or near abandonment of arts programs across the nation. Read Murr’s blog about why restoring arts education programs needs to be prioritized to ensure the next generation can compete in a global economy that is driven by knowledge and ideas.
This recent SF Examiner article offers snapshot of how schools in San Francisco and all over California rely on a "fraying patchwork of grants, programs and donations” for arts education. Some districts rely almost entirely on parent fundraising to maintain these programs, while schools in lower-income communities go without. San Francisco’s situation reflects conditions that exist across the state according to Mark Slavkin, chairman of the California Alliance for Arts Education, “The northeastern states are spending twice as much on education as California,” Slavkin said. “What these states take for granted, like dedicated art and music teachers, is something of a luxury in California.” Read more.
Governor Brown took action on several education bills last week, signing AB 1330 into law and vetoing SB 547. Read Alliance Executive Director, Joe Landon's response to the Governor's action and how it will affect arts education in California classrooms.
A message from Joe Landon, Executive Director of the California Alliance for Arts Education
Awakening to the news that AB 1330 had been signed and SB 547 vetoed makes me grateful for the spirit of resilience that arts education provides. Anyone who’s learned to play a musical instrument or rehearsed a dramatic scene or studied dance or painting technique knows that setbacks come with the territory, and the grit and determination required to pick oneself up after being knocked down or frustrated by disappointment. It’s all about holding onto that greater aspiration.
There’s no pretty way to put it. We got thumped on AB 1330 (Furutani), outgunned by labor and business interests committed to providing some semblance of legitimacy for Career Technical Education in the curriculum, even if at the expense of arts education and foreign language. As we’ve said all along, we regard career tech as essential in a complete education that prepares students for the future. We also strongly believe that students lose when one subject matter is pitted against another. We fought long and hard against this bill, and in the end we came up short.
Our other disappointment came in the Governor’s veto of SB 547 (Steinberg). In his veto message,...
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