On April 5, 2013 First Online With Fran asked a group of students from Brooklyn Theatre Arts High School to respond to this statement, “The Arts are extra-curricular and disposable.”

Here’s what they had to say…

“You can’t take away something from someone that goes to bed every night and smile about. . . It helps you find who you are as a person and where you belong in this world.” ~Justin Figueroa

This is a critical moment for the future of education in New York City.

There’s change everywhere in education, and it’s never been a hotter political topic. Major cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland have seen civic leaders join with parents, students, cultural organizations and businesses to expand access to arts education. New York City needs to be on that list.

The NYC Roundtable, together with more than 40 other cultural and educational agencies, invited the declared mayoral candidates to weigh in on what a quality education, including the arts, will look like if they are elected. Their responses are now up for all to see: View the responses now.

To become part of the solution sign a petition right now to show your support for arts and creative learning in New York’s educational future.

Visit CAE’s Arts Education Action Center! Here you’ll find tools, tips, and information to help ensure that all of New York City’s more than one million public school students are receiving an arts education.