Education reform continues to inch closer and closer to reality. Americans for the Arts works every day to make sure not only that the arts are represented both in and out of the classroom, but that we are also equipping advocates with the tools they need.
Partnership with President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and involvement in Turnaround Arts
In the field of arts education, Americans for the Arts continues to partner in administering the Turnaround Arts program, an initiative of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Americans for the Arts has long had a strong partnership with the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, contributing to the 2011 report that inspired the creation of Turnaround Arts. The initiative, which provides arts funding and supplies, brings in local artists and teachers, and designates a high-profile artist to struggling schools, expanded in 2014 to include 35 schools in 10 states and the District of Columbia. On May 20, First Lady Michelle Obama welcomed Turnaround Arts program participants to the White House for a talent show. Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch attended the event, where he had the opportunity to play a homemade arts board game created by a Turnaround Arts student.
"The arts are central to who we are as a people and they are central to the success of our kids. This is not an
after-thought. This is not something you do because it’s kind of nice to do. It is necessary, for these young
people to succeed, that we promote the arts."
– President Barack Obama
State Policy Pilot Program
In August, Americans for the Arts announced that ten state arts advocacy teams (Arizona, Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Wyoming) would join a three-year pilot program to strengthen arts education by advancing state policy. The program will support states by not only offering online tools and resources, hosting site-visits for advocates, and collecting state-by-state data and research, but also by providing direct grants of at least $30,000 to each state effort, making this the largest arts education advocacy grant program in the country. "We couldn’t be more excited to welcome these state teams into our new initiative to boost arts education. Because education reforms are primarily tackled at the state and local level, these new partnerships are critical to collectively strengthen the arts in education policy in our country," said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts.
Watch Narric Rome, Vice President of Government Affairs and Arts Education at Americans for the Arts, discuss the State Policy Pilot program
Core Arts Standards
Americans for the Arts and the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) teamed up to launch the new National Core Standards program on October 20. They were joined by singer-songwriter and arts advocate Ben Folds. The National Core Arts Standards are preK-12 grade-by-grade standards intended to guide educators seeking quality arts education for America’s students. The standards define artistic literacy, and support 21st-century skills and college and career readiness. The previous standards were established in 1994, and the updated standards are meant to reflect changes in dance, music, theatre, and visual arts, as well as create the first national standards for media arts.
USA TODAY
On September 19, Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch and National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu teamed up to write about creative development and education, featured in USA Today. The insert coincided with National Arts in Education Week, when we also hosted our 8th Annual National Arts Policy Roundtable and a special ARTSblog salon on creative youth development. In their respective articles, both Lynch and Chu used the numbers to link arts education to more innovative, creative, and successful adult professionals and citizens later in life. "Not every young person will go on to be an artist. But they will all be better students, employees, and citizens if they indeed have opportunities to embrace their creativity," wrote Lynch. Chu continued, "By increasing access to art education, we are not only equipping our children with creative reasoning, but we are helping to cultivate arts appreciation within a new generation."