Arts Education

From the University of Michigan Dearborn: Do you know UM-Dearborn alumni who are making a positive impact like these Alumni Difference Makers? Our alumni are “difference makers” who have continued the university’s legacy of leadership in their lives and careers through their contributions to the university and community. You are invited to join us in honoring deserving UM-Dearborn graduates at this year’s 2023 Alumni Difference Makers Awards ceremony during Homecoming week.

In recognition of National Arts in Education Week, U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), and Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) reintroduced legislation to increase access to the arts for students. The Arts Education for All Act will support and encourage arts education and programming for our young children, K-12 students, and youth and adults involved in the justice system. It will help to close existing gaps in access to arts education, which has the potential to improve the lifelong health and success of both children and adults.

During National Arts in Education Week, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) introduced legislation to increase access to the arts for students.

Bonamici’s Arts Education for All Act – introduced with Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) – will help close gaps in access to arts education by supporting and encouraging arts education and programming for young children, K-12 students, and youth and adults involved in the justice system.

From the Wallace Foundation: Youth workers from historically marginalized communities serve as important mentors to young people in out-of-school-time (OST) programs. But in a 2020 student-led survey of youth in OST programs, many of these workers reported experiencing racism in the workplace, along with low wages and job instability. In this episode of Beyond the Classroom, researchers and practitioners discuss strategies for addressing these challenges in order to more effectively recruit and retain skilled youth workers.

From Education Commission of the States: For decades, racial, ethnic and socioeconomic inequities and gender stereotypes have prevented students from accessing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. These barriers have negatively impacted high school STEM advanced placement course access, postsecondary persistence and entrance into STEM occupations.​ However, early STEAM education — which adds the “A” for arts — presents opportunities to improve access, equity, inclusion and outcomes.

"Ahead of the 2022–2023 school year, the College Board rolled out a pilot version of its new Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies course. The class had been in the works for over a decade, and this pilot version is currently offered to students at only 60 high schools across the country," said Elaine Velie for Hyperallergic. "Last week, the College Board announced an updated official curriculum framework in advance of the course’s expansion into hundreds more schools that some critics say is missing a host of important artists, writers, and concepts."

From Tooshar Swain for AFTA's ARTS blog, "National Arts in Education Week is upon us, and it is a wonderful time to reflect on where arts education has been and where it can go with impassioned arts advocacy. K-12 arts students and educators have endured a rocky road through the pandemic, and their perseverance must continue as we head into a new normal of education in the United States."

"The visual arts sector continues to grow at a rapid rate integrating applications of artistic and technological talent into the entertainment, fashion, and marketing industries across the world," said Rob Berger for Forbes. "Students are clamoring for more educational opportunities to get a head start on careers that often begin well before cap and gown ceremonies at the hand of doodlers across the nation."

"Senate Bill 681 was signed into law in July 2020, officially creating an arts high school graduation requirement in North Carolina. This graduation requirement begins this school year with entering sixth grade students," said Caroline Parker for EducationNC. "All 50 states and the District of Columbia have content or performance standards for arts education, but only 32 define the arts as a core or academic subject, according to the The Arts Education Partnership (AEP)."

"The anemic California polling numbers for this past primary election (12 percent of the population voted) don’t bode well for the fall, but there is a long-sought arts initiative on the Nov. 8 ballot," said author Michael Zwiebach for Classical Voice. "The California Art and Music K-12 Education Funding Initiative has qualified for the general election; as the name states, it’s meant to bolster school arts programs."