Trenton - New Jersey Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells and Commissioner of Education Lucille E. Davy along with the project partners for the New Jersey Arts Education Census Project participated in the release of the report WITHIN OUR POWER: The Progress, Plight and Promise of Arts Education for Every Child via web cast and before a live studio audience at New Jersey Network Studios in Trenton. The Report includes the highlights, findings and recommendations from the New Jersey Arts Education Census Project and is the result of collaboration between the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, the New Jersey Department of Education, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, and Music for All with additional support provided by NAMM - International Music Products Association, the D’Addario Foundation for the Performing Arts and David Bryan of Bon Jovi, who is a project supporter and was on hand to perform. This project was inspired by the Mapping Project, which was carried out by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey from 1996-98.
The New Jersey Arts Education Census Project is one of the most comprehensive reviews of arts education ever conducted on a statewide basis with more than 98 percent of all New Jersey public schools participating. By combining the findings of a statewide mandated survey of arts education offerings in every school with other information, the Project creates a 360 degree view of the status of arts education in New Jersey. “These findings have given us a realistic picture of the state of arts education in our schools,” said Secretary Wells. “We now have the information we need to clearly identify where our existing resources can be best focused to strengthen student access to arts education and make sure that all New Jersey students get the complete education they deserve.” The findings and recommendations presented at the event are part of the long term plan to broadly disseminate the Project’s discoveries and to centralize, maintain and distribute arts education information across the state through the newly formed New Jersey Arts Education Partnership.
This project marks the first time that the Department of Education has collected information about the implementation of the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for visual and performing arts, and it is evidence of the high value the Department places on a complete education. “Arts education is essential to providing a well-rounded, 21st century education for all students,” said Commissioner Davy. “The arts provide another way for us to communicate ideas, express our creativity, and appreciate the realities and the beauty of life through the senses and skills of the artist. The Department of Education remains committed to the arts and the many diverse lessons they teach all of us.”
WITHIN OUR POWER reports that New Jersey has made great strides in achieving equal access to arts education for all students in the state but there is still much work to be done. The report contains extensive findings and recommendations for five major areas including policies, students, teachers, resources and the community. The full report, summary and individual school and district arts index scores are available at www.artsednj.org; Some of the key findings and recommendations are listed below. The discoveries revealed in WITHIN OUR POWER confirm and disprove some widely-held assumptions. For one, the report asserts that “school size, along with professional and personal influence of educators and parents – not socioeconomic factors – impacts the level of arts in the schools.”
“The big headlines are 1) the need for better accountability for arts education. Great policies with no accountability means far too many students do not have access to a quality education that includes the arts, and access and equity is what this is ultimately about, and 2) Socioeconomic status is not a factor. There are great arts programs across all economic categories in New Jersey,” stated Bob Morrison, from Music for All and the Director of the project.
Students from the Franklin High School orchestra in an ensemble called "String Theory" opened the event with a performance showcasing the young talent and artistic excellence that thrives in New Jersey. To close out the morning’s program one of New Jersey’s best known musicians, Bon Jovi’s David Bryan, performed after speaking to the audience about his experience with arts education in New Jersey public schools.
David Bryan noted, “As a product of New Jersey Public School ’s I know first hand the importance of an arts education... Not only for the talented... But for all students. The opportunity to provide my support to an effort of this magnitude that will improve the environment for arts education for all students across my home state is very meaningful to me.”
Selected Report Highlights
Key Findings
· While 94% of our students have access to some arts education in their schools, the majority of New Jersey public schools fail to offer instruction in all four arts disciplines as required (Dance, Music, Theater and Visual Art).
· School size, along with professional and personal influence of educators and parents – not socioeconomic factors – impacts the level of arts in the schools.”
· More than 75,000 students attend schools every day with no access to arts education.
· While 81% of schools have updated curricula to reflect the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards in the Visual and Performing Arts – 19% of schools have not.
· 95% of all schools use appropriately certified arts specialists as the primary provider for music and visual arts instruction. But in theater instruction, no more than 59% of schools in any grade use appropriately certified arts specialists. In dance the percentage falls to 44%.
· Per-pupil arts spending (spending on materials and supplies) is a key factor in determining the level of visual and performing arts.
· Nearly 42% of the TOTAL spending on elementary arts education came from outside sources.
· Nearly 90% of New Jersey Public Schools interact with more than 1000 community arts organizations to enhance visual and performing arts in the schools.
Key Recommendations Include:
· That school administrators ensure students have access to all four arts disciplines as part of a basic education as required by state code.
· That the New Jersey State Board of Education build upon the strong policies in place supporting the visual and performing arts and implement an accountability process to publicly report on the implementation of these policies.
· That the New Jersey State Department of Education, with the Census Project Partners, commence a review of schools where no arts instruction is available, so information, policies and resources may be aligned to support the restoration of arts education in these schools.
· That the New Jersey State Department of Education work with the appropriate professional organizations to increase professional development for school and district administrators regarding the importance of the visual and performing arts.
· That school districts review their curricular support allocations for the visual and performing arts and identify ways to increase funding.
The complete list of findings and recommendations may be found in the report WITHIN OUR POWER: The Progress, Plight and Promise of Arts Education for Every Child and may be downloaded from www.artsednj.org
The Office of the Secretary of State and the Department of Education will carefully review the findings and recommendations presented in the report.
The New Jersey Arts Education Census Project is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding has been provided by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, NAMM International Music Products Association, the D’Addario Foundation for the Performing Arts, David Bryan of Bon Jovi, and Music for All.
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