Non-art teachers and school administrators feel quite differently than arts teachers would assume, however. More than 75 percent of teachers and 85 percent of administrators surveyed say arts education is as important as other subjects. Ninety percent of parents surveyed believe arts should be taught at their child's school. Sixty percent of parents surveyed say arts education is as important as any other school subject. The recognition that arts-immersed schools receive for their arts programs leads to increased morale, according to school administrators and many teachers in these schools.
Administrators point to their arts program as an indicator of the school's health.
These administrators are among the strongest proponents of arts education encountered during the evaluation. Almost every administrator at ABC school sites gives his or her arts program an excellent rating, though a third of the administrators at match schools rate their programs as fair or good, a judgment that is consistent with observations. Teachers in arts-immersed schools report more collaboration among teachers, better student behavior and a higher level of parental involvement than their match counterparts. Almost half of all classroom teachers surveyed believe that students do better in their classes because of arts education. Return to Winthrop University Home Page.