Arts Educators Battle NCLB

[Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>]

Note the strategically savvy plan to use Arts Advocacy Day next March to 
escalate pressure on Congress

ARTS EDUCATORS BATTLE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
Politico -- November 5, 2007
by Erika Lovley

Raising school test scores in reading and math remains the biggest 
hurdle for No Child Left Behind, with many schools nationwide performing 
at less-than-acceptable levels, according to government proficiency tests.

But while districts scramble to improve on core subjects, educators say 
the latest subject to be left behind is arts education.

The arts community is hoping to build a partnership with the business 
community to make music, dance and drawing classes more of a priority in 
the reauthorization of the education program.

Their pitch: Art classes enhance the creative and innovative thinking 
that drives entrepreneurs.

A recent study by the Center on Education Policy indicates that school 
time spent in art classes has decreased by nearly half since NCLB was 
passed in 2001. Some educators say the focus on testing is so intense 
that it is forcing schools to siphon time away from other nontest 
subjects such as music and dance.

The shift has alarmed and energized some of the nation's largest arts 
groups, like Americans for the Arts, the nation's largest arts advocacy 
nonprofit; American Arts Alliance, a group of 4,100 performance artists; 
and NAMM, a trade association representing musical instruments. NAMM 
spent $320,000 on lobbying last year, the most out of the three groups.

With the reauthorization of NCLB stalled on Capitol Hill, the community 
has time to plan its attack. In March, on Arts Advocacy Day, it plans to 
saturate Capitol Hill; some activists will be toting samples of 
professional and student artwork to show lawmakers.

Karen Bradley, a government affairs liaison for the National Dance 
Education Organization, said she has spent an increasing amount of time 
on the Hill as Congress' Thanksgiving break draws closer, urging 
lawmakers to allocate more funding to and emphasize the importance of 
arts education in the revised bill.

"I tell Congress the message to school districts needs to be, 
'Incorporate arts into the learning day,'" she said.

Arts education was originally included as a core subject in President 
Bush's 2001 law -- a move the community considered a huge victory. But 
the arts movement struggled to find both funding and attention after 
reading and math tests became schools' main focus. The law also does not 
require schools to provide the classes.

Studies have found that art classes can help students' performance in 
other subjects and could even raise test scores. For instance, dance 
movement can be used to help a child learn rhythm and meter in reading 
classes, while singing can enrich the memorization of multiplication 
tables.

According to a 2005 Harris poll, 93 percent of Americans believe the 
arts are vital to a complete education.

The Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce agree that arts 
education would help produce more creative, well-rounded students. 
According to the chamber, American graduates are beginning to fall 
behind other countries in creative skills, which could be aided by arts 
classes.

But the business community isn't ready yet to move lobbying resources 
from their top education priorities, which still include rigorous 
testing standards for NCLB. Those standards, they argue, will produce a 
more globally competitive workforce.

So mastering the basics must come first, they've told Bradley. But she 
counters: "What they really want is to hire people who can think on 
their feet and have creative skills. Arts are a part of that, but they 
don't get it."

Sandy Kress, Bush's former education adviser and a lobbyist for both the 
Chamber and Business Roundtable, said while much of the business 
community is quietly supportive of arts education, math and reading 
subjects must be improved before the sector is willing to launch a 
lobbying move for it.

"I don't think it's the intention of the business community that 
emphasis on math and reading will be to the detriment of arts 
education," said Kress. "We expect students to get a broad education, 
but it's hard to study art history if you can't read well."

Kress points to studies that show arts education hasn't suffered 
dramatically under NCLB. The Digest of Education Statistics shows that 
2005 high school graduates took more courses in noncore subjects like 
history, science and arts than 2000 graduates did.

"We don't have a position on whether arts is good or not," said Arthur 
Rothkopf, senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "I 
personally think the classes are a great idea, but if a youngster can't 
read and do math at proficiency levels, he's going to have a very 
difficult life."

In Congress, enriching arts education gained bipartisan support earlier 
this year. Both the Senate and the House have passed resolutions calling 
music education an important part of a well-rounded education that 
should be available to every student in the nation.

Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), both members 
of the Senate education committee, requested in May that the U.S. 
Government Accountability Office examine how arts access has changed 
since NCLB was implemented.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who originally voted for NCLB, has 
also criticized the law for depriving students of creative expression.

Although a number of politicians want to see arts funding, money for 
education is already a touchy subject in Congress, which is trying to 
allocate money for a host of other domestic priorities.

After making some progress in the Senate, art lobbyists are aiming their 
message toward House Education and Labor Committee members, especially 
Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.), whose NCLB draft is still under review.

The movement is also attracting future artists. Valerie Branch, a senior 
dance major from the University of Maryland, is one of hundreds of 
college students planning a lobbying effort for Congress. The 
25-year-old plans to join a dance troupe after college.

"People think the arts aren't important, but kids need to know that 
there are other vocational careers out there," she said.

The Walnut Hill School, one of the oldest secondary high schools for 
arts in the nation, gathered arts educators and students on the Hill 
last week to meet with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), an avid arts 
supporter.

"A student whose life is enriched by the arts has a better chance of 
staying in school, achieving in school and succeeding after he or she 
graduates," Kennedy said.

   http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/6715.html