VAPA ADVOCACY
Education Secretary Duncan Says the Arts are Essential Education
Monday, January 12, 2015
Speaking today about the need for reauthorization of the Elementary & Secondary Education Act, Education Secretary Arne Duncan stated: “I believe education cannot and should not be boiled down just to reading and math. I believe the arts and history, foreign languages, financial literacy, physical education, and after school enrichment are as important as advanced math and science classes. Those are essentials, not luxuries.”
Arts education advocates have long sought to have the arts central to a complete education. Education leaders in Congress are determined to reauthorize the current federal policy early in 2015 and Americans for the Arts has been conducting outreach to policy makers calling for arts education to be strengthened.
Opportunity Is Not Optional: Secretary Duncan’s Vision for America’s Landmark Education Law
What School Leaders Can Do To Increase Arts Education – an AEP report .”Learning in and through the arts develops the essential knowledge, skills and crative capacities all students need to succeed in school, work and life.”
The Value of the Arts – Part 1
The Value of the Arts – Part 2
9 Reasons to Study Art in High School
Arts Education and Student Learning: Dr. Victoria Stevens
Oklahoma’s A+ Schools: Valuing of Arts Education: Edutopia
Putting Arts Education Front and Center: Paige and Huckabee
The Value of Arts Education: Edutopia
What Education Can Learn from the Arts: NAEA National Convention
VAPA RESOURCES
National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) – Nationally work is in progress re-looking the national arts standards (originally developed in 1994). This work is under the leadership of NCCAS which is made up of a coalition of The College Board, National Art Education Association(NAEA), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE), National Dance Education Oganization (NDEO). These are standards that will equate to Arts Common Core Standards. See nccas.wikispaces.com for more information. The Alliance has two members involved in this national work, so if you have questions, please contact Nancy Carr at the Alliance. Next work is Cornerstone Assessment.
National Arts Standards – home for the 2014 national arts standards (Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts) and additional resources: www.nationalartsstandards.org
Arts Education for America’s Students: A Shared Endeavor – The State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education, in partnership with 12 national arts and education organizations, has released Arts Education for America’s Students, a Shared Endeavor, a statement outlining the importance of high quality arts education and those responsible for providing it to students. A Shared Endeavor articulates the purpose and value of arts education in the balanced curriculum of all students, asserts its place as a core academic subject area, and details how sequential arts learning can be supported by rigorous national standards and assessments. The statement, created over a 12-month period by the endorsing organizations, responds to the alarming marginalization of quality arts education in America’s schools in recent years, as funding, staffing, and school time has increasingly focused on tested subject areas. Acknowledging the long history and support for arts education by public and private partners, A Shared Endeavor defines what quality arts education looks like at the local level, encourages partnerships, and calls on organizations and individuals to actively support and promote:
- Policies and resources for arts education,
- Access to arts education for all students,
- Collaboration between school-based arts educators, other subject area teachers, and community-based artists and arts educators,
- Long-term advocacy partnership between all providers of arts education.
Arts Education for America’s Students, a Shared Endeavor, reflects the value SEADAE and its partner organizations place on the work of our members and others who contribute to high quality arts education. This document as well as more information about SEADAE can be found at http://seadae.org.
State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE) – national professional organization for state department consultants whose responsibility is education in the arts: www.seadae.org
Have you seen the updated 1950s Bloom’s Taxonomy? – Look and absorb the implications of the 2001 adaptation of Bloom’s Taxonomy by Anderson & Krathwohl (2001).
See two examples of that 2001 comparative look at Learning:
Title_I_State_Coordinators_arts_letter – use of Title I funds for arts instruction
Common Core Standards to Curriculum – Five Big Ideas McTighe:Wiggins – applicable to the national NCCAS core arts standards
Americans for the Arts/The American Council for the Arts
Arts Education and 21st Century Skills
Arts Education Partnership (AEP)
Arts Education Resources Considerations
Content Standards in the Visual and Performing Arts
Arts Education Program Toolkit (previously referred to as the MAP Toolkit)
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
Professional Development: Arts Education in Practice
Professional Development Considerations
Professional Development: Guideline Considerations for Arts Education
Professional Development: NCLB Pertaining to High Quality
Providers of Classroom Instruction