THE CENTER FOR ARTS EDUCATION

Click here for a printable version of the press release.

Contact: Kellie Burton

kellie@cae-nyc.org

(212) 971-3300 x354

Heather Mangrum

heather@cae-nyc.org

(212) 971-3300 x308

MORE THAN 400,000 CITY STUDENTS LACK QUALITY,
WELL-ROUNDED EDUCATION WITHOUT ACCESS TO ARTS

– City’s Leading Arts Education Advocacy Organization Welcomes Data, Fears DOE Survey May Undercount Actual Need –

New York, NY, September 24 – Despite mounting research proving that arts education helps children learn critically important skills for success in school and in life, a recent Department of Education (DOE) parent survey found that 41% of parents say that their children currently receive no arts education in their public school. These parents represent more than 400,000 of the city’s children, more than four in ten in a system serving 1.1 million city youth.

“Arts education strikes right to the core of what equity in education really looks like,” said Richard Kessler, Executive Director of the Center for Arts Education (CAE). “We cannot accept ‘two’ cities: one in which children learn to think creatively, solve complex problems and sharpen their basic skills and another where hundreds of thousands of children are left out because of where they live or the address of their school.”

The 2006-2007 Learning Survey is an important tool to addressing the problem, says CAE. “For the city’s parents and children, information is power,” added Kessler. “Transparency leads to better understanding of the tremendous task before us. We welcome the opportunity to work together to make expanding access to arts education a priority for our schools and our children.”

While CAE applauds the DOE for sharing this information, they join with education equity advocates concerned that the survey sample may in fact under count the actual need. According the DOE’s analysis, the 216,914 parents (26%) that responded to the survey, response rates were “lower in schools with higher percentages of poor and minority students (elementary schools) and lower achievement levels (middle school and high schools).” Prior DOE research indicated a much smaller number of schools to be without arts education, so parents may well be informing the system of a worsening problem.

“Just as smaller class sizes, qualified teachers and effective school leadership are essential elements for a great school, so is arts education,” said CAE Board President Jill Braufman. “Especially here in the arts capital of the world, we should accept nothing less than a complete education with arts learning as an essential element for all city children.”

The Center for Arts Education (CAE) is committed to restoring, stimulating, and sustaining quality arts education as an essential part of every child’s education. CAE provides information and resources that demonstrate the benefits of and need for arts education as part of a quality, balanced education. CAE also identifies, funds, and supports exemplary partnerships and programs that demonstrate how the arts contribute to learning and student achievement. CAE is dedicated to influencing educational and fiscal policies that will support arts education in all of the City’s public schools. Since its founding in 1996, CAE has awarded nearly $40 million in private and public funding to support arts education partnerships and programs.

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