Following are three stories ripped from the headlines of the Americans for the Arts ' June 2009 newsletter:
Obama's Secretary of Education pressed on Arts in Schools
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made the rounds on Capitol Hill in June 2009 to make the case for the Obama administration's education budget and policy requests.
Education and Labor Committee Member Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) pointedly asked Secretary Duncan to address the potential of the No Child Left Behind Act emphasizing math and reading scores at the expense of other core academic subjects like the arts. Secretary Duncan assured her that he is reviewing the law's impact on the other core curricula, referencing the need to present the full menu of options in the classroom.
Subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) urged Secretary Duncan to watch the 2009 Nancy Hanks Lecture on the Arts and Policy, "The Ballad of the American Arts," performed by Grammy Award-winner and guest lecturer Wynton Marsalis. Chairman Harkin cited the lecture in warning that the arts should not be left out of the classroom as a casualty of focus on other subjects. Secretary Duncan replied that students desperately need the arts to maintain interest in school and that more hours in the school day would help ensure a well-rounded education.
For further information, contact Associate Director for Federal Affairs Gladstone Payton by e-mail: gpayton@artsusa.org or visit www.AmericansForTheArts.org/Hanks.
Nation's Report Card in the Arts Released
The National Center for Education Statistics released the results of the long-awaited 2008 National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) on the arts on June 15, 2009.
The report found significant racial/ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic gaps in the results of both the music and visual arts assessments. The research shows that, in general, white and Asian/Pacific Islander females attending private schools in the suburbs, rural areas, or towns outperformed their peers in both visual arts and music.
Due to budgetary constraints and the sheer lack of measurable programs in dance and theater, assessments in these areas were unable to be completed as a part of the 2008 NAEP on the arts. The last NAEP on the arts was conducted in 1997, and the next one isn't scheduled until 2016.
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan issued a statement on the NAEP release. For further information, contact Director of Federal Affairs Narric Rome by e-mail: nrome@artsusa.org or visit
2008 National Assessment of Educational Progress
The U.S. Conference of Mayors pass Resolutions on the Arts
At its recent annual meeting in Providence, RI, the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) passed three arts related resolutions supported by Americans for the Arts. As in previous years, the USCM is calling for the U.S. Congress to fully fund the National Endowment for the Arts and for all mayors to mark October as National Arts and Humanities Month in their communities across the country. In addition, the USCM also passed a resolution congratulating Americans for the Arts on the occasion of its 50th anniversary in 2010. This resolution notes Americans for the Arts' work over the past 50 years across all aspects of the artistic and political communities and the leadership of Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch. For more information, contact Director of State and Local Government Affairs Jay Dick by e-mail: jay@artsusa.org.
To read the resolutions, click here: Read the Resolutions.
