Technically, the federal government doesn’t fund public schools. The Great Recession may have accelerated this trend, but according to a 2012 report from the Department of Education, the economic downturn followed a prolonged decline in funding for public school dance and theater programs (the proportion of elementary schools offering these subjects dropped from 20 percent to 3 percent and 4 percent, respectively). Funding is always an issue for schools and is, in fact, one of the biggest issues facing the American public education system today. “I was actually a very late bloomer in my art career,” Fukutomi-Jones said. “Me and a few of the high schoolers organized an arts advocacy summit and we got almost 500 kids from LAUSD to participate in workshops emphasizing the importance of arts in our schools,” Larsen said. For Fukutomi-Jones, not having access to an arts education while in school meant discovering her career path later than most. Arts education is not made a priority in many classrooms nationwide. As a teacher, I know that the two main factors that contribute to a lack of arts education are funding … With so little public funding, schools are now relying more on private funds and patrons of the arts to provide creative outlets for students. Not only is it the job of schools to teach, but also to provide a safe and comfortable environment while students are enrolled. Birmingham said regardless of whether or not practicing art raises test scores, the arts are valuable on their own. Technically, the federal government doesn’t fund public schools. In response, nonprofits, students and teachers have mobilized to advocate for the importance of an arts education. Although, according to Americans for the Arts, the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act includes the arts as "core academic subjects," schools may push painting, orchestra, band and other similar programs aside in favor of reading, writing and math classes. One organization that receives funding from the NEA is the local nonprofit California Art Education Association. In a Common Core survey of 1,001 third- through 12t… “I think that number one, our schools need to provide more opportunity and more resources when it comes to the arts.”. However, states receive grants from the federal government to reach certain set criteria. In fact, I attended an art school and studied creative writing. \"When you think about the purposes of education, there are three,\" Horne says. When Hong was 4, her mother and aunt opened a small interior design business named JS Interior Design. However, states receive grants from the federal government to reach certain set criteria. 1. Years of research show that it's closely linked to almost everything that we as a nation say we want for our children and demand from our schools: academic achievement, social and emotional development, civic engagement, and equitable opportunity. Consequently, supporting public funding for the arts simply makes good sense. Finally, schools can provide the framework for interested students to form clubs and groups surrounding their interest in art if they do not find the arts education programs in place to be enough to fit their own personal needs. Since 1965, CAEA has helped support pre-K through university educators working in all areas of visual arts. Public funding for arts programs comes from federal, state and local governments, and all three sources tightened purse strings during the recessionary economy of the early 2000s. Both San Francisco public schools faced five straight years of districtwide budget cuts — which hit hardest in 2010 with a $113 million shortfall and last school year came to a more manageable $13 million. But three years ago, the less affluent Oklahoma City Public Schools cut 44 art positions. “I thought I was going to be a lawyer, I thought I was going to go down a very different career path, and as soon I was exposed to that experience, it changed my life — literally.”. The decline of formal performing arts education in schools and the impact of the Ebacc have been well documented. In adults, participating in art activities can be linked to increased civic engagement and greater social tolerance, so teaching students these skills early can improve the likelihood of continued participation in arts activities down the road. The organization campaigns to maintain public funding for the arts, works to increase access to arts education for public school students and builds public support for the arts. Often, funding arts education falls on the shoulders of outside agencies. Schools are funded in different ways, with public schools receiving funding from federal, state, and local government. However, as states continue to cut school funding and money toward public education declines, investment in the arts is hit especially hard. “We go into buildings that have been designed to be beautiful and we read things and we even like the more commercial arts that people work hard to make beautiful and functional.”. As Danny Gregory suggests in an article for Phi Delta Kappan, a professional magazine for educators, instead of emphasizing art classes themselves, shifting focus to fostering creativity in school environments can provide the benefits of arts education without disrupting the nationwide emphasis on improving math and English test scores. The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) is a professional association that represents the nation’s state and jurisdictional arts agencies. Schools today have either significantly reduced the amount of arts education provided to their students or completely removed it from the curriculum. Arts education was never a problem at my school. This phenomenon is detrimental to students because arts education has been proven to be beneficial. I found a lot of enjoyment in that.”. “The arts is not just for our people — it’s for everyone,” Fukutami-Jones said. It is challenging to prove that an arts education is needed, as there aren’t standardized tests that can quantify its value, said Carrie Birmingham, associate professor of teacher education at Pepperdine. Often, the issue comes from funding. “I always saw it happening around me,” Hong said. The arts can be transformative in the lives of children but they are often under the threat of budget cuts and demanding academic testing. Subjects such as visual arts, music, theater, and band are often cut before other subjects. “[Schools] can’t give them an hour a week for arts education because their test scores are low,” Birmingham said. In 2017, the number of entries for GCSE drama declined by 8.5%, while A … Within schools themselves, there is an opportunity to bring art into the classroom, even in non-art subjects. In the past, several presidents have attempted and sometimes succeeded in cutting government funding for arts programs in public schools. Several television commercials ask the public to help save art programs in public schools. In reality, the arts amplify what students are able to absorb academically. Williams grew up attending public schools. “I remember comparing Pali [Palisades Charter High School] to Dorsey [Susan Miller Dorsey Senior High School], which is in my neighborhood, and seeing Pali have all these arts programs while Dorsey was struggling to get an art teacher,” Larsen said. Larsen said she grew up participating in a theatre group and saw the positive effects of the arts in communities and on people. Deficits in government funding for schools. Arts education includes classes such as music, drama or theater, dance, and visual art. Witnessing a lack of arts education for those in her community, Larsen was inspired to join the Student Center Theatre Group, a program that aims to educate youth about arts advocacy. Contradictory research about whether or not an arts education improves academic performance results in tradeoffs when schools don’t perform well academically. Aside from that, my school offered visual arts, vocal music, instrumental music, dance, musical theatre, and acting programs of study. In 2015, lawmakers invested the same amount of funding in terms of inflation-adjusted dollars in our schools as it had before the cuts. National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965. According to statistics compiled by Grantmakers in the Arts, from 2011 to 2012, appropriations to the National Endowment to the Arts saw a decline of nearly 6 percent, while state resources saw a decline of about 5 percent. Taylor said it’s common for schools to charge students hundreds of dollars a year, which can pay for everything from art supplies and instruments to fine arts teachers’ salaries. While improvements have certainly been made since the original setback, and on an overall scale it seems as if funding has returned to pre-recession levels, individual areas still see a significant lack of funding. Title I, which focuses on providing personnel, instruction, and interventions to help close achievement gaps, can be used to address the huge, persistent disparities to access to arts education in public schools. If you think that your child or your school is entitled to have arts education programs, you may need to think again. “Because typically most arts educators in any area are very isolated and siloed and they don’t have the chance to collaborate.”. When her teacher had an extra ticket to “Othello,” she decided to take it. For many years, the lack of arts education has been a problem in our schools. Gore said a decline in arts funding has a lasting impact on students. By including the arts in classrooms, schools can tackle both goals at once: art can be taught to students at all levels and improve the classroom environment, at it has been proven that art provides certain benefits to schools such as lower drop out rates, improved attendance, and a greater understanding of diversity and peer support among students. Students in rural and small school districts receive the least amount of instruction in arts education. “There’s just so much human value in the arts … We enjoy arts every single day,” Birmingham said. For more than 90% of K-12 schools, funding comes from state and local governments, largely generated by sales and income taxes. This can manifest itself in many ways: loss of teaching jobs, decreased pay and benefits, and conversion to four-day school weeks. The Lack of Arts Education in Public Schools, I Don’t Want To! Modern art is art, but it is also much more, Playwright Julie Oni Uses Power of the Pen, More Than a Relationship: How Love and Trust in Relationships Shape the Self, Priscilla Merlo Rediscovers Her Faith and Herself, Dania Ashraf Connects with Students Around the World, The Beliefs Humans Hold and Why They Hold Them. “Luckily for me, in my private high school there was also an art class and I had the option to be an AP art student and to continue to pursue my passion.”. An arts education, Fukutami-Jones said, is incredibly important in providing opportunities to foster creativity. This year, Los Angeles teachers went on strike for the first time in 30 years, many of them fighting for better resources, including for the arts. With so little public funding, schools have been relying more on private funds and patrons of the arts to provide creative outlets for students. However, the money it awards is meant to complement arts funding, not replace it. Lack of funding means low salaries for teachers. Students rely on their schools. For arts education, these grants often come from the National Endowment for the Arts or the National Endowment for the Humanities. Seeing the work and outreach that local nonprofits have in communities like hers made Larsen want to advocate for her community at greater levels. “Creativity isn’t optional; students who are not visually literate and culturally literate can’t thrive in a global world,” said Robin Gore, president of CAEA. While I do understand the need to cut spending somewhere, it should not affect the arts. In the U.S., the art industry is not controlled by a single person or agency. “It’s very vital that students have access to an arts education and that they have access to it early, because waiting until they’re [in] high school to develop and find these skills is too late for them to be competitive,” Gore said. Local entities, likewise, contributed less funding to the arts in 2012. They didn’t, however, adjust this funding in terms of student growth, and as a result our state has still not returned to the pre-recession levels of public school funding that we had before 2008. “The arts and the humanities belong to all the people of the United States.”. Instead, a combination of federal, state, regional and local agencies provide financing for the arts. Arts education, on the other hand, does solve problems. “It’s all for the students, and I would do anything for my students,” elementary school teacher Alex Williams said. This requires recipient organizations to also receive funding from non-federal contributions. This nonprofit advocates for public support of the arts in the United States. FUNDING AND GRANTS FOR ARTS EDUCATION PROGRAMS Schools receive funding for arts education programs from school districts, PTA/PTOs, grants, foundations, and/or parent donations. This forces school districts to make serious choices about program funding. Public schools, especially, are notoriously underfunded. Funding for the arts is complex. For many states, funding for schools came to a crisis point after the recession. \"We're pr… However, my high school experience was much different from the grade school experience of most. “I went to LAUSD [Los Angeles Unified School District], and throughout my education, I actually did not have any access to arts education.”. \"Art does not solve problems, but makes us aware of their existence,\" sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz has said. If budget cuts necessitate the loss of certain classes, fine arts classes are often the first to go. Here’s what wasn’t a problem: lack of funding.Providence spends $17,192 per pupil every year. “We’re at a severe disadvantage without funding.”. Their most recent report for the 2019 fiscal year shows that after adjusting for inflation, art funding throughout the years has decreased 43.4 percent. If arts education is so critical, why is it always being cut? In the 2017-2018 school year, Oklahoma had 1,110 fewer art and music classes than four years prior, leaving 28 percent of all Oklahoma public school students without … Santa Monica Community College freshman Lily Larsen said she personally experienced the disparity in arts funding from higher income to lower income school districts. The Edmond Public School district, for example, has not cut any fine arts classes recently. This occurs because there are no standardized tests in these subjects. Matthew Reedy is the principal of Grattan Elementary in the Haight. “She always tells me, ‘You need to be a creative person out there because that’s what the world is craving.’”. Cuts to education spending affect all aspects of students’ academic experience, from the condition of the school … “The arts and the humanities belong to all the people of the United States.” President Lyndon B. Johnson gave this sentence power by signing the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965. Assets are found in the private sector, through parent organization fund raising, grants, community arts education advocate associations and museum outreach. Firstly, there are those students with a passion for the fine arts who are not given an outlet to grow and expand their skill. Though few would deny that the arts … She worries about the future of education if students don’t receive all of the resources they deserve. Despite going to private school her entire life, Hong was aware of the cuts in arts funding happening in public schools. A critical challenge for arts education has been a lack of empirical evidence that demonstrates its educational value. For thousands of art educators in California, CAEA provides a network for them to communicate and champion the importance of visual arts. The argument is that the arts are a luxury – and simply not as important as math or reading. Since the 1960s, it has surveyed state arts agencies twice per year for updated revenue information. “In high stakes testing, if the kids don’t do well in math and English, then all kinds of bad things happen.”. Also, participation in the arts is a means of healthy recreation, so by teaching art to students, schools can help prevent risky or harmful behavior as students age. In schools, arts education can improve school climate and empower students with a sense of ownership over their work, just to name a few. “I’m running for a seat in City Council District 10 to be a councilwoman,” Larsen said. Evelyn Cheung is the principal of Junipero Serra Elementary School in Bernal Heights. President Lyndon B. Johnson gave this sentence power by signing the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965. Pepperdine senior Tammy Hong said her family’s appreciation of visual design helped shape her passion for art. While all areas of public education have suffered from slashed education funding over the past decade, budget cuts have hit fine arts education especially hard . The growth in revenue shows how more people are beginning to fill the hole left by decreased government funding. Finally, when schools fail to provide arts education, they are failing to provide the best school environment for students. Schools in urban areas are especially lacking in arts education. “It makes our community stronger and more vital if each person and every student has that critical part of their education.”, Follow Araceli Crescencio on Twitter: @aratells, Copyright 2013 Jupiter Premium Magazine Theme, Fall 2019: Challenging Perceptions of Light & Dark, Fall 2017: Vox Populi — The Voice of the People. Unfortunately, our state has struggled to uphold this commitment. “I would try to copy her and draw with her. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In high school, Fukutomi-Jones attended her first play by chance. A loss in funding too often translates into less money to support elective courses in music. “I remember sitting around in the living room and my aunt would be drawing designs,” Hong said. There are students of lower socioeconomic status who might want to pick up a hobby in the arts but can’t afford private instruction, and failing to provide arts education to these individuals means they may have no other way to learn about their passions. “The fight is for them, for better resources in their classroom and for public education.”. “The nexus of this organization started out of a required need. Gore said a growing source of funding for nonprofits comes from patrons of the arts. School districts with the highest rates of poverty receive less funding per student than those with the lowest rates of poverty, a … While it is important for American schools to provide adequate schooling in subjects such as math and English, and also that our test scores are comparable to those of other nations to gauge how equipped American students are in general for whatever job or future schooling comes to follow, this should not mean that all instruction in the arts is neglected. “Arts for LA was really funded by a group of art leaders because at that time in 2006, the LA City Department of Cultural Affairs budget was on the chopping block,” said Jennifer Fukutomi-Jones, director of programs for Arts for LA. Compounding the problem is the trend of closing failing schools in large urban areas and replacing them with smaller ones, which lack the shared resources for … Only a third of 8 th-graders in the western U.S. took an art class last year and only 17 percent played in the school band, the lowest figures of any region in the country, according to a recently released national arts assessment.. That said, most funding for public schools comes from the state. The study also detected a worrying … This is true regardless of socio-economic status of the students enrolled in those schools. When schools are not receiving enough funding, nonprofit organizations such as Art Road can attempt to provide adequate art education for students. The arts can be transformative in the lives of children but … When schools fail to provide adequate fine arts education, they are doing a disservice to their students. Nonprofit organizations can contribute to arts education in a variety of ways, from providing more funding to providing the actual classes themselves. Students do better in academic subjects when they have a regular infusion of the arts. So, what can be done to combat this phenomenon? However, as states continue to cut school funding and money toward public education declines, investment in the arts is hit especially hard. We had to take action immediately.”. Rhonda Taylor, the director of visual and performing arts for OKCPS, said schools lost nearly 100 … That said, most funding for public schools comes from the state. Williams, 32, teaches at Woodlake Avenue Elementary Charter School in Woodland Hills and is one of the many teachers around LA who marched for better school funding and higher pay. Funding for Arts Education in California Although it has been nearly 30 years since the passage of Proposition 13 – which cut local tax revenues for public schools and virtually eliminated arts programs – schools are still struggling to find a place in their budgets for the arts. Along with the specified arts education funding under AAE, there are several other avenues for the arts to recieve funding within ESSA. Arts for LA is a nonprofit that promotes access to the arts for every student in Los Angeles County. In the current state of economic recession, public schools are losing a significant portion of their funding. “Art funding gets cut because standardized testing doesn’t test it,” Birmingham said. Art advocates have noted that the NEA and NEH’s $148 million budgets account for a fraction of 1 percent of the budget, yet provide access to thousands of arts education programs as well as funding for museum exhibits and galleries, which could also bolster students’ ability to perform better on arts assessments. Emphasis has been placed in schools all across America on improving math and English test scores, so arts education has fallen to the wayside. Is Grouping Students Based On Ability in the Classroom the Way to Go. For arts education, these grants often come from the National Endowment for the Arts or the National Endowment for the Humanities. How to motivate students to succeed and achieve. “We hold conferences, we have networking, we have area connections where people can get together and network, collaborate, work together,” Gore said. In Most States, Poorest School Districts Get Less Funding. Speak with your principal to identify how your school’s art program will be supported. “My mom is a huge influence in my life,” Hong said. The National Endowment of the Arts is the largest single funder of the arts in the U.S. fund school arts programs. While foundation and government funding have become increasingly difficult to receive, individual gifts have become a significant source of support for nonprofit arts organizations. The handful of states that have tackled school funding reform more recently have moved in the direction of greater flexibility for local schools. “It was the first play I went to, and I never looked back,” Fukutomi-Jones said. This paper examines a community effort to support the arts in a local public school with the combined effort of a pilot outreach program and a parent run foundation.