Dive Brief:
- Hartford Performs, an arts initiative comprised of visiting artists who lead lessons for 13,600 students from pre-K through eighth grade in Hartford, CT, has helped participants outscore peers in reading and writing.
- According to the New York Times, funding for the program is made possible by foundation grants, in addition to the school system.
- Superintendent Beth Schiavino-Narvaez says that although it's "valuable to have proof that integrating the arts into academic lessons improves student learning," all of the art lessons are also vetted to ensure that they meet Common Core-aligned standards.
Dive Insight:
According to Rie Poirier-Campbell, the executive director of Hartford Performs, most teachers never think of themselves as artists. “It probably wouldn’t occur to a teacher to use dance or drawing or other art forms in their lessons," she told the New York Times. "We break it down, give them techniques. It gives them an easy way that’s nonthreatening to them.”
And arts education is likely to get a boost from the passage of the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). According to Education Week, the new law contains language around states' obligations to provide arts education in public schools, calling it significant to a "well-rounded education" alongside math and reading.