Encourage Creativity - Keep the Arts in Schools!
Research shows that arts classes lead to success in school, work, and life. Students who are involved in the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement. Arts education provides students with the critical thinking, collaborative skills, and creative skills necessary to succeed in today's ever-changing world.
Yet, despite the impressive benefits of arts education, more schools are cutting arts programming. Only 3 percent of elementary schools offer dance, only 17 percent of high schools require music, and only 4 percent require dramatic arts.
The arts are designated as a core academic subject by federal law, just like reading and math. But here's the problem: Many school leaders don't know that. This means that they do not tap into federal education funds to achieve the success that schools like Findley Elementary in Des Moines, Iowa, have found; its student math proficiency rose 8 percent after the arts were integrated.
Help us convince school leaders that arts education can be a solution to lackluster student performance, truancy, and discipline problems.
Take action today and tell our leaders to encourage creativity in our schools by teaching the arts, which lead to imagination, innovation, and success!
Don't Forget: Freestyle Love Supreme airs Fridays at 10:30e/p, only on Pivot TV.
Yet, despite the impressive benefits of arts education, more schools are cutting arts programming. Only 3 percent of elementary schools offer dance, only 17 percent of high schools require music, and only 4 percent require dramatic arts.
The arts are designated as a core academic subject by federal law, just like reading and math. But here's the problem: Many school leaders don't know that. This means that they do not tap into federal education funds to achieve the success that schools like Findley Elementary in Des Moines, Iowa, have found; its student math proficiency rose 8 percent after the arts were integrated.
Help us convince school leaders that arts education can be a solution to lackluster student performance, truancy, and discipline problems.
Take action today and tell our leaders to encourage creativity in our schools by teaching the arts, which lead to imagination, innovation, and success!
Don't Forget: Freestyle Love Supreme airs Fridays at 10:30e/p, only on Pivot TV.
To: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
As you know, the arts help prepare our students for success in schoolwork and in life. In 2012, when presented with a report that found that high-poverty schools are significantly less likely to provide students with access to arts education, you stated, “This is absolutely an equity issue and a civil rights issue.” Therefore, I call on you to write an updated letter to state and local education leaders, providing crystal clarity about the role of the arts in achieving the goals intended with Title I funds.
We appreciate the letter your department released in 2013 that reminded state leaders about the ways the arts can be used to help boost student achievement, especially students served under Title I. While previous letters have been a boon to the cause, an updated letter from you would be instrumental in getting the word out to all the necessary recipients.
In a time of rapid education reform and pressing priorities, school leaders still seem confused about their eligibility to use federal Title I funds for arts integration programs—as a way not only to boost student achievement but also to improve school culture, increase student engagement and attendance, and provide our students with a means for developing 21st-century skills such as creativity and innovation.
No school should eliminate or diminish arts instruction because it believes it isn't an eligible core academic subject. A letter like this, sent out to superintendents and leaders across the country and housed on your website, would showcase your department's belief that all students deserve a well-rounded education, which includes the arts. Empowered by better information and your strong leadership, state and local education leaders can help ensure that this vision is realized.
[Your comment here]
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
Sign PetitionSign PetitionAs you know, the arts help prepare our students for success in schoolwork and in life. In 2012, when presented with a report that found that high-poverty schools are significantly less likely to provide students with access to arts education, you stated, “This is absolutely an equity issue and a civil rights issue.” Therefore, I call on you to write an updated letter to state and local education leaders, providing crystal clarity about the role of the arts in achieving the goals intended with Title I funds.
We appreciate the letter your department released in 2013 that reminded state leaders about the ways the arts can be used to help boost student achievement, especially students served under Title I. While previous letters have been a boon to the cause, an updated letter from you would be instrumental in getting the word out to all the necessary recipients.
In a time of rapid education reform and pressing priorities, school leaders still seem confused about their eligibility to use federal Title I funds for arts integration programs—as a way not only to boost student achievement but also to improve school culture, increase student engagement and attendance, and provide our students with a means for developing 21st-century skills such as creativity and innovation.
No school should eliminate or diminish arts instruction because it believes it isn't an eligible core academic subject. A letter like this, sent out to superintendents and leaders across the country and housed on your website, would showcase your department's belief that all students deserve a well-rounded education, which includes the arts. Empowered by better information and your strong leadership, state and local education leaders can help ensure that this vision is realized.
[Your comment here]
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
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