In their 2013 guide Preparing Students for the Next America, the Arts Education Partnership noted that participation in the arts is associated with improvement in ELA and math, problem solving and communication. Given these benefits, public school administrators should use community resources to grow the arts in their schools by bringing in volunteers to run programs for students and to train teachers as well as by seeking grants.
First, administrators can seek parent and community volunteers. For example, my principal enlisted parents to lead an art literacy program and an after-school choir. Our school does not have an art or a music teacher, so these volunteers created opportunities to engage in these artforms that students might not otherwise have, and students can reap the benefits of the arts described by the Arts Education Partnership.
Second, administrators can invite community artists to train teachers in arts integration — teaching the arts with another subject, such as teaching painting as well as social studies by having students paint maps. Such training would empower teachers who might otherwise feel uncomfortable doing so, to integrate the arts in their teaching, allowing students more opportunities to participate in the arts.
Finally, administrators can find grants in the community. For example, my principal connected me with the local arts council, which gave me a grant to do an elementary school play, which I could not have done without the grant. This year, I am using the grant for the fourth time. If administrators reach out to their local organizations and businesses, they too can find sponsors for arts experiences at their schools.
I hope that administrators will heed the call to implement these three suggestions to support the arts in their schools.
Bryn Swain, Salt Lake City
