Need/Benefit

PROVIDING HANDS-ON ARTS EDUCATION

 

"Every student in the nation should have an education in the arts." This is the opening statement of "The Value and Quality of Arts Education: A Statement of Principles," a document from the nation's ten most important educational organizations, including the American Association of School Administrators, the National Education Association, the National Parent Teacher Association, and the National School Boards Association.* 

                                                            

National Research

During the 1990's, researchers including Dr. Shirley Brice Heath (Stanford University), Dr. Robert Horowitz (Teachers College, Columbia University), and Dr. James Catterall (UCLA), demonstrated the importance of arts learning in helping students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills essential to success in the 21st century. This research has lead to increased awareness and action on the part of educators to create state-wide learning standards that can offer bench marks for student achievement.

 

 

            PS 75 - Visual Arts     Photo Credit: Bill Stanton 

New York City and New Jersey Region

Following the fiscal crisis of the 1970's, system-wide cutbacks in arts education in New York City and the region led to over twenty years where students received little arts education in school. Even though today the need for and benefits of arts learning are now well accepted, the means to deliver quality arts programs to school-aged youth remains a work-in-progress that continues to be effected by decisions made over 30 years ago.

 

In New York City, the recent Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts demonstrates a significant commitment by the school system to create a framework for establishing meaningful arts education standards in music, visual art, dance, and theater for students in grades K-12. 

 

In New Jersey, the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for the Visual and Performing Arts were adopted in 2004. During spring 2006, the New Jersey Visual and Performing Arts Education Survey (NJVPAE) began collecting data on the depth and breadth of their implementation in New Jersey's public schools. This survey is the most intensive and comprehensive look at arts education ever undertaken in the U.S. Results will inform public discourse and funding in the years to come.

Here is a snapshot of what we know of the current environment:  

Most schools and youth organizations in the communities Arts to Grow serves lack the resources needed to offer all of their students weekly hands-on learning opportunities in the arts.

 

  • The Wallace Foundation reports that three-fourths of parents recently surveyed in New York City say they were looking to enrich their children's education with arts and music.
  • Accessing arts education during out-of-school time holds additional barriers for low-income young people because many quality arts programs require students travel outside their neighborhoods and most program fees are not affordable for low-income families. While some arts programs do offer partial or full scholarships, the enrollment process often requires parental support unavailable to many under-privileged young people.
  • In August 2005, the national After School Alliance's report Arts and Afterschool: A Powerful Combination suggests that arts in after school plays a critical role:
  • Arts education provides numerous creative, academic, and developmental benefits to individual students.
  • The arts are a key element for attracting and retaining middle and high school students to after school programs because they allow for individual expression and demonstration of their work. Regular attendance is essential because it is the only way after school programs can impart their positive effects.
  • Youth today face a variety of difficult issues that effect their development, from divorce to drugs to violence in their communities. The arts provide an opportunity for youth to express their feelings in a creative and constructive manner, rather than through risky behaviors.

For all the above reasons, effectively offering all school-age youth in our community the opportunity to participate in arts programs requires partnerships between arts education organizations, schools, and community agencies located in students' own neighborhoods.

 

Elysian Charter School - Winter 2006. Photo Credit: Jay Savulich  

Solution: How Arts to Grow plays a role in addressing today's needs

Who Benefits

We serve young people ages 5-18 at their school and out-of-school time programs. We especially target young people growing up in low to moderate income, minority communities. Students benefit from quality classes in the arts taught by experienced teaching artists. Through partnering with Arts to Grow, schools and community organizations expand their offerings to students beyond academic enrichment, sports, and recreation. Artists gain meaningful employment, continue to develop their teaching skills, and share their talents with a diverse community of young people.

 

Evaluation and Program Assessment

Arts to Grow is a learning organization that assesses student outcomes, builds effective partnerships with schools / community organizations, and evaluates our teaching artists' abilities to connect with young people. We engage in a process of continuous evaluation and review of program outcomes. Arts to Grow is utilizing a range of tools in this process including: site observations, pre and post group student interviews, and surveys of: parents, teaching artists, and program partners.  

 

Why Teaching Artists

We believe that working artists - practitioners who are actively making original art - are best able to inspire and nurture young people's creativity. Working with teaching artists, students make their own art and discover the joy of learning. We engage experienced teaching artists who have taught young people during both in-school and out-of-school time.

 

The Value of School and Community Partnerships 

We strongly believe our work with students is best accomplished as a partnership with existing community-based and school-based programs. Every program is tailored to meet the needs of each individual partner organization and the young people served. We meet and communicate regularly with our program partners to ensure a strong communications and feedback process occurs.

 

Community Outreach: Benefits For All

Arts to Grow offers students the opportunity to share their work through presentations on stage or on display in settings such as senior centers, hospitals, community centers, and shelters. Connecting diverse members of the community by sharing young people's artistic work opens important avenues for dialogue and learning between students and community members.

 

* MENC: The National Association for Music Education "Music Education Facts and Figures" 2002.