National Arts in Education Week

Arts in Education Week

Passed by Congress in 2010, House Resolution 275 designates the week beginning with the second Sunday in September as National Arts in Education Week. During this week, the field of arts education joins together in communities across the country to tell the story of the impact of the transformative power of the arts in education. Watch the video and join us in the celebration!

  1. Celebrate. Host a celebration in your community, whether big or small, an existing event, or a new one. Download and use the shared logo and be sure to register your event on ArtsMeet, a national arts event calendar.
  2. Advocate. Work with your elected officials and decision-makers to share the value of the arts in education. Whether a mayor, principal, or U.S. Congressman, check out sample resolutions and videos, send an op-ed to your local newspaper, and use the Arts Education Navigator—an online tool with six action steps to crafting a personal advocacy plan. Be sure to sign the petition encouraging Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to support the arts!
  3. Participate. Share your story in the social media campaign, #BecauseOfArtsEd, to bring national visibility to the issue of arts education. See below for more information and download the How To Guide. Also, be sure to attend and invite friends to the Facebook Event.

The arts boost student learning,

The data is in: The arts boost student learning, particularly for English Language Learners

Posted by Marna Stalcup On September – 10 – 2014

 Arts instruction has long been used as a tool for reaching English Language Learners. In fact, the origins of the children’s theatre genre lie in the Settlement Houses of Chicago in the early Twentieth Century, where Jane Addams utilized theatre and poetry to help students learn English (this tradition can be seen today in the plethora of children’s books adapted for the stage.)

There is a wealth of information available today about the usefulness of the arts for reaching multiple learning styles but there are few studies that directly link arts integration with student test scores (particularly long-term, richly collaborative integration models). Read more…