me arts ed

President’s Initiative

I wrote about the series on NPR that includes the Turnaround Arts Initiative and finally had a minute to go to their website. Very good information there, that I recommend taking a close look at. The following information is taken (just a part) from the Turnaround Arts website at http://turnaroundarts.pcah.gov/.

The President’s Committee Turnaround Arts Initiative was created by the U.S. Department of Education and the White House Domestic Policy Council. The partnership was designed to help transform some of the nation’s lowest performing schools through comprehensive and integrated arts education. Developed from the recommendations in PCAH’s recent report Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools, the Committee’s landmark research publication of May 2011, Turnaround Arts will test the hypothesis that high-quality and integrated arts education can be an effective tool to strengthen school reform efforts-boosting academic achievement and increasing student motivation in schools facing some of the toughest educational challenges in the country.

The first federal study of research data on the effectiveness of arts education in over a decade, Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future through Creative Schools (May 2011) analyzed the challenges and opportunities in arts education in America. Turnaround Arts puts into practice several of the recommendations in the report, including using arts education as a powerful tool for whole school reform in high poverty, low-performing schools, and the need for a wider range of evidence on its impact.

Studies included in this report show that when students participate in the arts they are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, have higher GPA/SAT scores, and demonstrate a 56 percent improvement in spatial-temporal IQ scores. They show significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12, are more engaged and cooperative with teachers and peers, and are more self-confident and better able to express their ideas. These benefits are particularly pronounced in high-poverty, low-performing schools, and work in tandem with other pedagogical approaches. Arts education works best as a part of overall school and education reform strategy.

I love the three images with text that I’ve included in this post that go along with the initiative. I think you will agree that they are very well done and coooooool! You can read more at the Turnaround Arts website at http://turnaroundarts.pcah.gov/.