ADVOCACY: RESOURCES
Culture Builds Florida: The Economic Impact of the Arts and Culture
Randy Cohen, Vice President for Research and Policy at Americans for the Arts was the keynote speaker at the October 25, 2011, Culture Builds Florida Conference held by the Florida Department of State. An eloquent spokesperson for the arts and culture, Cohen's message is firmly rooted in arts education. See the presentation with notes HERE.
US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan urges states to maintain arts instruction
In a letter to governors, secretary Duncan urged states to consider student outcomes first when they cut education budgets.
Avoid short-sighted cost-cutting. Efforts to increase productivity should not be mistaken for the short-sighted cost-cutting many states and districts have engaged in over the years to reduce education spending. Even in an era of tight budgets, cutting back in a manner that damages educational quality and hurts children is the wrong thing to do. Short-sighted cuts include: reducing the number of days in the school year, decreasing the amount of instructional time,and foreign languages, eliminating high-quality early learning programs, abandoning promising reforms, and indiscriminately laying off talented teachers be they new, mid-career, or veteran.
This advice was part of a Duncan's Guidance on Productivity which outlines best practices for maintaining the integrity of the educaiton system while balancing the budget. See the full letter HERE.
Florida DOE Memo to Superintendents Supports Arts Education
The attached memo was sent to Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, and Arts Supervisors in every school district in Florida. It addresses the important findings of the 2007 Graduating Cohort which found a positive correlation between the amount of arts education and academic performance. (See information below under Research). This is an important message as we go into the budget process for next year. It voices clear support from the Florida Department of Education for arts Education. Read the full memo HERE.
Research: 2008 Cohort Study
Data pulled from the Florida Department of Education
data vault at the request of State Senator Wise of
Duval County was analyzed by Dr. Steve Kelly of Florida
State University. Dr. Kelly found the positive correlation
between student achievment and arts courses overwhelming. This
work was directed and funded by the Florida Music
Educator Association (FMEA).
See for yourself:
Key Messages
There are a number of organizations that provide
talking points you can use to raise awareness of
the value of arts education to student engagement
and learning, as well as to the State’s economy.
National Research Studies & Reports
The Wallace Foundation provides a wealth of information
and resources on subjects relating to arts education.
The Qualities of Quality: Understanding Excellence in Arts Education is available for download (all 364 pages). This is the report from Harvard's Project Zero. Published June 2009 - we have been so busy trying to save arts education, have we overlooked the quality issues?
In addition to Knowledge Center at the Wallace
Foundation, there are a number of studies that
you can use to substantiate the statements you
make about the value of arts education to student
engagement and learning. Here are links to some
of them.
- Champions of Change, The Impact of the
Arts on Learning, edited by Ted Fiske,
The Arts Education Network, 1999, at artsedge.kennedy-center.org
- Catherine Smith, “Artistic Instinct,” art & culture
of Palm Beach County, Fall 2007, pp.52-59.
- “Critical Evidence: How the Arts
Benefit Student Achievement,” by
Sandra S. Ruppert; National Assembly of State
Agencies, 2006 at www.nasaa-arts.org
- Using Arts & Culture to Stimulate State
Economic Development, National Governors
Association Center for Best Practices. www.nga.org
Work Force Preparation
- Daniel H. Pink writes of our entry into the
Conceptual Age where we will be a society of
creators and innovators, and argues compellingly
for the importance of the right brain. www.wired.com
- TheCalifornia Alliance for
Arts Education’s new study, Accountabilityin
Arts Education, includes an important discussion
on workforce requirements and arts education.
It can be found at www.artsed411.org.
- Tough Times Tough Choices: The Report of
the New Commission on the Skills of the American
Workforce, National Center of Education
and the Economy, 2006, at www.skillscommission.org
- Arts and Minds, Conversations about the
Arts in Education, “How Creativity,
Education and the Arts Shape a Modern Economy,” an
Interview with Sir Ken Robinson, Senior Advisor,
Education Policy, Getty Foundation, published
by the Education Commission of the States,
April 2005 at www.ecs.org
- TheCalifornia Alliance for Arts
Education’s new study, Accountability in
Arts Education, includes an important discussion
on workforce requirements and arts education. It
can be found at www.artsed411.org.
- Sift Ed and Shift Age, two books by David Houle give this futurist's vision for the 21st Century and the important role of creativity and innovation. See video, subscribe to his free newsletter, and read more www.davidhoule.com/media.asp
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