“Our city is home to some of the greatest public schools in the nation where innovation and creativity thrive. And yet we have hundreds of schools that are subpar, under-resourced in the arts, sciences and other areas, and generally not providing the rich and engaging curriculum that students deserve and parents expect,” writes the head of the Center for Arts Education in SchoolBook today. “This is problematic from an equity point of view, but is also counter-productive to our educational goals and ambitions as a city.”
Music and the arts impart to students critical skills such as the ability to innovate, critique and collaborate, according to numerous studies discussed in today’s SchoolBook article. Studies demonstrate the connection between the skills gained from quality arts education and future career success. Further, unreleased research findings from an arts-in-education development program indicate that the arts program helped improve English and math scores on state exams compared to peer schools.
The state needs to ensure all schools have sufficient funding so all students can receive ample, quality arts experiences.
Center for Educational Equity 