July 2004

Dear Superintendent:

As I am sure you know, the arts are a core academic subject under the No 
  Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). I believe the arts have a significant role 
  in education both for their intrinsic value and for the ways in which they can 
  enhance general academic achievement and improve students' social and emotional 
  development.

As I travel the country, I often hear that arts education programs are endangered 
  because of No Child Left Behind. This message was echoed in a recent 
  series of teacher roundtables sponsored by the Department of Education. It is 
  both disturbing and just plain wrong.

It's disturbing not just because arts programs are being diminished or eliminated, 
  but because NCLB is being interpreted so narrowly as to be considered the reason 
  for these actions. The truth is that NCLB included the arts as a core academic 
  subject because of their importance to a child's education. No Child Left 
  Behind expects teachers of the arts to be highly qualified, just as it does 
  teachers of English, math, science, and history.

The Value of the Arts

The arts, perhaps more than any other subject, help students to understand 
  themselves and others, whether they lived in the past or are living in the present. 
  President Bush recognizes this important contribution of the arts to every child's 
  education. He has said, "From music and dance to painting and sculpting, 
  the arts allow us to explore new worlds and to view life from another perspective." 
  In addition, they "encourage individuals to sharpen their skills and abilities 
  and to nurture their imagination and intellect."

A comprehensive arts education may encompass such areas as the history of the 
  arts, the honing of critical analysis skills, the re-creation of classic as 
  well as contemporary works of art, and the expression of students' ideas and 
  feelings through the creation of their own works of art. In other words, students 
  should have the opportunity to respond to, perform, and create in the arts.

Setting the Record Straight

There is much flexibility for states and local school districts under the No 
  Child Left Behind Act with respect to support for the core subjects. In 
  Arizona, for example, as part of Superintendent Tom Horne's current "content-rich 
  curriculum" initiative, $4 million in Comprehensive School Reform (Title 
  I, Part F) funds are supporting arts education at 43 current Comprehensive School 
  Reform schools throughout the state. Additional Arizona Arts Education Initiative 
  school sites are being supported with Title V (Innovative Programs) funding 
  under NCLB.

Under NCLB, Title I, Part A funds also can be used by local education agencies 
  to improve the educational achievement of disadvantaged students through the 
  arts. In the same way, Title II Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants can address 
  the professional development needs of teachers of the arts, and portions of 
  Title II funds can support partnerships that include nonprofit, cultural-arts 
  organizations.

The arts also can be an important part of learning and enrichment in programs 
  supported by 21st Century Community Learning Centers program funds. Before- 
  and after-school, weekend, and summer programs are excellent opportunities to 
  stimulate students' artistic interests and foster their growth or to integrate 
  arts learning with other subjects, including reading and math. Cultural partners 
  in the community -- arts centers, symphonies, theatres, and the like -- can offer 
  engaging venues as well as skilled instructors and mentors for students.

Various information about some of the publications available on arts education 
  is enclosed. We are providing this information for your convenience, and you 
  may want to share these resources with your state department or central office 
  staff as well as with your administrators, principals, and teachers.

The Value-Added Benefits of the Arts

In keeping with NCLB's principle of classroom practices based on research evidence, 
  studies have shown that arts teaching and learning can increase students' cognitive 
  and social development. The arts can be a critical link for students in developing 
  the crucial thinking skills and motivations they need to achieve at higher levels. 
  Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development, 
  a research compendium of the Arts Education Partnership, offers evidence of 
  such links, including connections between arts learning and achievement in reading 
  and math.

Based on a review of data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study 
  (NELS: 88), University of California-Los Angeles researchers determined that 
  students who were highly involved in arts instruction earned better grades and 
  performed better on standardized tests. They also performed more community service, 
  watched fewer hours of television, reported less boredom in school, and were 
  less likely to drop out of school. These findings were also true for students 
  from the lowest socioeconomic status quartile of the 25,000 students surveyed, 
  belying the assumption that socioeconomic status, rather than arts engagement, 
  contributes to such gains in academic achievement and social involvement. As 
  mentioned in the enclosure, a summary of these and other findings in Critical 
  Links can be accessed at the Arts Education Partnership's Web site at: <www.aep-arts.org/resources/toolkits/criticallinks/>.*

For both the important knowledge and skills they impart and the ways in which 
  they help students to succeed in school and in life, the arts are an important 
  part of a complete education. As we work together to implement NCLB, let's ensure 
  that all children have the opportunity to learn and to grow in and through the 
  arts.

Sincerely,

/s/

Rod Paige

Enclosure

---

Resources for Arts Education

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII): The Education Department's 
  Office of Innovation and Improvement, much like an entrepreneurial foundation, 
  makes strategic investments in innovative educational practices through two 
  dozen discretionary grant programs, including several arts-in-education programs. 
  Among these is the Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination program, 
  which supports the development, documentation, evaluation, and dissemination 
  of innovative, cohesive models that demonstrate effectiveness in:

· Integrating and strengthening arts into the core elementary and middle 
  school curricula;
  · Strengthening arts instruction in those grades; and
  · Improving students' academic performance, including their skills in 
  creating, performing, and responding to the arts.

For more information on the Arts in Education programs in OII, visit: <www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/index.html>.

Opening Minds Through the Arts, an arts integration project in Tucson, 
  Arizona, supported by OII's Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination 
  program, is featured in the January 26, 2004, issue of The Education Innovator, 
  OII's e-mail newsletter at: <www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/innovator/index.html>. 
  This project influenced the Arizona Department of Education's decision to support 
  arts-in-education programs within the state's Comprehensive School Reform network, 
  using Title I, Part F funds. The July 12 issue of The Education Innovator 
  is to feature another of the Arts in Education Model program sites, in Hamilton, 
  Ohio. To receive weekly Education Innovator issues, click on "Subscribe" 
  in the masthead of the newsletter page above.

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP): The National Assessment 
  of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as "the Nation's Report Card," 
  is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's 
  students know and can do in various subject areas. Since 1969, assessments have 
  been conducted periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. 
  history, civics, geography, and the arts. Information from the 1997 Nation's 
  Report Card in the Arts can be found at: <www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/arts>.

Arts Education Partnership (AEP)

The Arts Education Partnership is a national coalition of arts, education, 
  business, philanthropic, and government organizations that demonstrates and 
  promotes the essential role of the arts in the learning and development of every 
  child and in the improvement of America's schools. The Partnership includes 
  over 140 organizations that are national in scope and impact. It also includes 
  state and local partnerships focused on influencing education policies and practices 
  to promote quality arts education. Specific resources available from AEP include 
  the following:

Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social 
  Development is a research compendium that reviews 62 studies of arts 
  learning in dance, drama, music, multiple arts, and visual arts. Interpretive 
  essays examine the implications of the body of studies in each of these areas, 
  and an overview essay explores the issue of the transfer of learning in the 
  arts to other academic and social skills. A Critical Links Tool Kit is 
  available at: <www.aep-arts.org/resources/toolkits/criticallinks/>.*

No Subject Left Behind: A Guide to Arts Education Opportunities in the 
  2001 NCLB Act is a guide for state and local arts and education leaders 
  to learn more about the federal No Child Left Behind Act and the multiple 
  opportunities for arts education. It provides a brief overview of the legislation, 
  including where to find specific references to the arts, descriptions of individual 
  programs with arts-specific examples that have received funding, and links to 
  Web sites for additional information. No Subject Left Behind is available 
  at: <www.ecs.org/html/Document.asp?chouseid=6558>.*

Education Commission of the States (ECS)

ECS is an interstate compact created in 1965 to improve public education by 
  facilitating the exchange of information, ideas, and experiences among state 
  policymakers and education leaders. Recognizing the contributions the arts make 
  to student achievement and economic development will be the focus of Arkansas 
  Governor Mike Huckabee's tenure as the 2004-06 ECS chairman. The goal of his 
  ECS Chairman's Initiative will be to "ensure that every child has the opportunity 
  to participate in, learn about, and enjoy the arts." More information on 
  the initiative will appear on the ECS Web site at: <www.ecs.org>.*

National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE)

In 2003, a NASBE Study Group on the Lost Curriculum examined the status of 
  curriculum in the nation's schools, particularly with regard to the arts and 
  foreign languages. The Study Group concluded that a substantial body of research 
  highlights the benefits of including the arts in the curriculum. Second, it 
  concluded that the arts are "increasingly at risk of being lost as part 
  of the core curriculum."

The group's report, The Complete Curriculum: Ensuring a place for the arts 
  and foreign languages in America's schools, contains 10 recommendations 
  for incorporating all core subject areas, including the arts, into the improvement 
  strategies promoted by the No Child Left Behind Act. A recent issue of 
  NASBE's The State Education Standard was devoted to the arts and contains 
  a summary of the Study Group's report and its recommendations, along with informative 
  articles on arts education. You may access articles from the journal issue and 
  a summary of The Complete Curriculum report at: <www.nasbe.org/standard/index.html>.* 
  Ordering information for the full report may be found on the NASBE Web site.



* This document contains contact addresses and Web sites 
  for information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. 
  This information is provided for the reader's convenience. The U.S. Department 
  of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, 
  or completeness of this outside information. Further, the inclusion of information 
  or addresses, or Web sites for particular items does not reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered.

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