We would like to thank our friends and partners around the state who have joined us in celebrating Arts Education Month! Read the coverage on this month-long celebration of the arts in schools:
Arts Education Month
Welcome to the ArtsEd Washington events calendar. If you have an event that you would like to include here, please fill out our Submit an Event form.
In the News: Arts Education Month 2012
We would like to thank our friends and partners around the state who have joined us in celebrating Arts Education Month! Read the coverage on this month-long celebration of the arts in schools:
How Can I Get Involved In Arts Education Month?
As a valued arts education advocate, we invite YOU to help raise awareness for Arts Education Month!
Arts Education Month is a time to celebrate and acknowledge the vital role that the arts play in a student’s education and life. Join the celebration by helping promote it using these marketing listings, and call your community to action! Share these by including them in an e-newsletter, blog post, website, Facebook or Twitter post, local newspaper, and more.
General Short Marketing Listing:
Mark your calendars! May is Arts Education Month in Washington state – a time to celebrate and strengthen arts education in our schools for all students. Arts Education Month recognizes the creative endeavors taking place in our schools and it’s a time to show the community how the arts are making a difference in education. Visit www.artsedwashington.org to access the Arts Education Month toolkit and find out more about how you can join in the statewide campaign celebrating arts learning in action.
General Long Marketing Listing – with hyperlinks:
Mark your calendars! May is Arts Education Month in Washington state – a time to celebrate and strengthen arts education in our schools for all students. Arts Education Month recognizes the creative endeavors taking place in our schools and it’s a time to show the community how the arts are making a difference in education.
This is why we, together with ArtsEd Washington, invite you to join the statewide campaign celebrating arts learning in action. You can show your support by:
- Requesting a resolution* from your city or school board
- Attending public performances, art exhibits, and classroom presentations at local schools
- Encouraging local school district leaders and elected officials to see arts learning in action
- Sharing information about special student arts events, encouraging your community to see first-hand how the arts are positively impacting schools and students
Arts Education Month is also your own personal opportunity make a commitment to arts education:
- Learn about the issues and how the arts are critical to student success
- Request the arts be put on the agenda and funded in your community
- Serve as a community voice, sharing the importance of the arts in school
By working together, we can ensure all students in every school have access to learning in the arts.
Visit www.ArtsEdWashington.org to access the Arts Education Month toolkit, learn more about the issues, and find out how you can get involved.
*Be sure to share your signed resolution with ArtsEd Washington so it can be posted on their website! Email it to office@artsedwashington.org.
For more ways to get involved in Arts Education Month, view our Arts Education Month Toolkit.
Archived Arts Education Month Materials
2011 Proclamations & Resolutions:
2011 Open Letter to Washington’s School Directors
2010 Proclamations & Resolutions:
ArtsEdWA In the News: E.D. Una McAlinden Featured on ARTSblog
Thanks to our friends and partners at Americans for the Arts for inviting ArtsEd Washington Executive Director Una McAlinden to contribute to ARTSblog and share our innovative Arts Education Month tools and strategies.
Arts Education Month 2011: North Kitsap School District’s Resolution
The North Kitsap School District declares May as Arts Education Month.
Arts Education Month 2011: City of Tacoma’s Proclamation
The City of Tacoma proclaims May as Arts Education Month.
Arts Education Month 2011: King County Council’s Proclamation
The King County Council proclaims May as Arts Education Month.
Arts Education Month 2011: ArtsEd Washington’s Resolution
ArtsEd Washington’s Board of Directors approved a resolution proclaiming May as Arts Education Month.
Open Letter to Washington’s School Directors
Every Student. Every School.
May 17, 2011
Dear School Board President,
This month, schools and districts across the state celebrate Arts Education Month. On behalf of ArtsEd Washington, I would like to take this opportunity to extend a special thank you for your leadership and commitment to education. We appreciate the hard work and dedication of all School Directors to address, and find solutions to, the complex issues districts and schools continue to face.
Because a complete education cannot be defined without the arts, and because we know School Directors are committed to ensuring that students across your district have every opportunity to receive their complete education, we invite you to join us in the arts education movement, ensuring equitable delivery of arts learning to every student at every school.
The arts (defined as dance, music, theatre and visual arts) are included in our state’s definition of basic education as a core content area; however the unfortunate reality is that many students in our state are still not receiving an equitable arts education. As you face tough decisions ahead, we urge you to avoid making disproportionate cuts to the arts, and eliminating or drastically impacting the infrastructure for delivery of your arts programs. To deprive your district’s students of their access to arts learning will greatly impact their ability and potential to contribute, and be competitive, in our rapidly evolving and global society where creativity is a cornerstone to success.
In fact, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently urged the nation to avoid making “short-sided cuts” in education specifically naming “eliminating instruction in the arts” as one of the cuts to avoid. In addition, a recent arts education report, Re-Investing in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools, just released by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, notes arts education as “an effective tool in school-wide reform and in fixing some of our biggest educational challenges.”
A complete and balanced K-12 curriculum that includes standards-based arts education as part of everyday learning has proven to foster well-rounded graduates who enter college and the workforce with creative skills and a competitive edge. Study after study continues to show that arts education teaches creative problem-solving and cultural awareness, offers multiple pathways to understanding for different learners, and increases connections and engagement between teachers, students, and the supportive community that surrounds them.
Credible research has also demonstrated consistently better outcomes for students highly involved in the arts including better grades, less likelihood of dropping out, and more positive attitudes about school. These same studies show that high levels of arts participation make the greatest difference for economically disadvantaged students.
As we seek to develop the leaders we need for a future we cannot predict, we cannot afford to define a complete education without the arts. We must work together towards solutions that ensure arts learning as part of students’ complete education — so that every student has equitable access to arts learning during school hours. With creativity and innovation as the new watch words in almost every career field, these skills are needed to prepare all our children for life in the 21st century.
As a School Director, you have and will continue to play a pivotal role in the decisions that impact and can help to safeguard arts learning for students in your district. To assist you in your efforts to ensure arts education in your schools, we are pleased to serve as your statewide resource and can provide you with additional information including research studies, success stories, and details of programs that are helping support principals and teachers in delivering the arts to their students.
We also would like the opportunity to highlight your district’s arts education successes and efforts. For example, if your Board of Directors issued a resolution supporting Arts Education Month, we would be pleased to post it on our website and recognize your commitment to arts learning for your district’s students. You may send an electronic copy to office@artsedwashington.org. You can also follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter, as well as find additional tools and resources on our website at www.artsedwashington.org.
Finally, please consider ArtsEd Washington as your arts education partner as you continue in your work ahead and don’t hesitate to contact me at 206.441.4501 or una@artsedwashington.org if I can provide you with information or answer any questions.
Sincerely,
Una McAlindenExecutive Director
The Movement Felt Around the Community: Arts Education Month
Read more about Arts Education Month awareness and news coverage.
