The U.S. House of Representatives has designated September 12-18 as the annual Arts in Education Week. With this resolution, Congress has called for public attention to the role of arts education as a core academic subject that provides skills and knowledge essential to the education of all students. The resolution is part of a broader multi-year effort to strengthen the status of arts education as Congress re-writes the bill that determines how the U.S. Department of Education supports our nation’s schools, students, and communities.
This intensive focus on the value of the arts in education offers orchestras a great opportunity to draw attention to their efforts at improving arts education in their community’s schools and advocating for arts education as a core subject for grades K-12. Orchestras and arts advocates nationwide are renewing their call for equitable access to a complete arts education for every student during the September 12-18 Arts in Education Week.
At the federal level, the League of American Orchestras plays a leading role along with a broad range of national arts and education organizations in seeking major improvements in funding, policies, and national data collection at the U.S. Department of Education. Want to know what you and your orchestra can do? The League has prepared an information brief with suggested actions and valuable resource materials that make the case for the importance of arts education in schools. The Arts Education Partnership has created a website that contains complete background information and activities for Arts in Education Week.
Posted September 13, 2010
