The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has released its “report card” assessment of student learning and achievement in visual arts and music. From NPR:
Arts Education
by Monica
An op-ed piece written by dance educator Amy M. Wilkinson and published in The Hill argues the importance of the arts as part of a well-rounded education. As states develop their plans as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), advocates argue that the arts must be included in those plans. The article highlights the state of Illinois, which today will vote on an ESSA plan which does not include arts programming as an indicator of school quality. Wilkinson presents evidence of the many benefits of arts education and urges states to “help its children by elevating arts programming within our schools.”
by Monica
The Aspen Institute has released an online interactive version of its Aspen Institute Guide for Creating Trusted Learning Environments, funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation:
by Monica
A recording of GIA's recent webinar on federal arts education policy is now available online. The webinar includes the most up-to-date developments with the Every Student Succeeds Act, arts education policy, and the new administration, as well as tips on how funders and organizations working at the local level can advocate for arts education.
by Monica
From The New York Times:
After contentious confirmation hearings, protests across the country and two rounds of voting, Betsy DeVos cleared the first hurdle in her path to becoming secretary of education on Tuesday with a party-line vote in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions that advanced her nomination to the Senate floor.
by Steve
In an article in the latest issue of the GIA Reader, Alexis Frasz, codirector of Helicon Collaborative, interviews Anthony Leiserowitz, PhD, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
by Monica
President-elect Donald Trump has selected Betsy DeVos as his nominee for Secretary of Education.
“DeVos, 58, chairs the American Federation for Children, an advocacy group that has aggressively pushed to expand charter schools and school voucher programs that provide families with public money to spend on private school tuition,” according to Politico.
On May 25, 2016, Grantmakers in the Arts gathered a cross-section of twenty-eight funders from the arts and environmental sectors for the Arts and Environmental Sustainability Thought Leader Forum at the New York Community Trust. Most foundations in attendance were represented by two people: a person from the arts and a person from the environment, each of whom were interested in collaborative work at this intersection. Helicon Collaborative organized and facilitated the session.
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by Monica
The passing of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides states with increased flexibility to include the arts as a component of a well-rounded education. A new report from the Arts Education Partnership (AEP), a center within Education Commission of the States, ESSA: Mapping Opportunities for the Arts, highlights the ways that states can engage the arts in the ongoing implementation of ESSA.