Read all the research, news, and policy in our arts education RECAP for January 2022.
Research
Why Child’s Play is Serious Business in Early Education “Since young children don’t often have an opportunity to exercise choice and control, free play can be a liberating experience, nurturing independence and relieving stress. A growing body of research is making the case for play as a way to boost the well-being of young children as the pandemic drags on and concerns over learning loss and mental health issues escalate.” EdSource
New CDC Guidance Encourages More Testing to Limit School Quarantines “In the Los Angeles study, 1,635 schools that did not use “test to stay” lost an estimated 92,455 in-person school days to quarantine between Sept. 20 and Oct. 31. No days were lost to quarantine among the 432 schools using “test to stay”. And the incidence of COVID-19 was similar between the two groups of schools.” NPR
How the Difference Between Sound and Noise Can Influence Our Ability to Learn “In addition, music education – from beat-keeping to note-reading – offers clear cognitive benefits to children. ‘In my view,’ says Kraus, ‘music should be a part of every child’s education. It should be a priority as important as learning to read and write. And in fact, playing music will help the reading, writing and arithmetic, in addition to the other ways that it strengthens brain development.'” KQED
Equity
For Kids Grappling with the Pandemic’s Traumas, Art Classes Can be an Oasis “After spending months trying to get used to remote learning, now kids are struggling to adjust to being in school in person again. Health experts recently declared the decline in children and adolescents’ mental health a “national emergency.” As schools grapple with the social and emotional effects of the pandemic on students, music, theater and other art teachers are trying to help.” NPR
A New — and Long Past Due — Roadmap for Overhauling How Schools Serve English Learners “Policy wonks generally earn their way in this work by creatively reimagining existing systems, not simple, direct calls for resources. But in a moment when nearly one-quarter of U.S. children speak a non-English language at home, it’s clear that English learners deserve more federal funding. Much more.” The 74
Calls-to-Action
Winter 2022 Regional Conversations are coming up! “Learn about federal, state, and local arts advocacy priorities. This is your opportunity to connect, to get the latest news on Federal and State arts policies, to collaborate on local priorities and to strengthen advocacy in your region.” Californians for the Arts
Our Shared Future: Imagining a New Landscape for Teaching Artists “On April 5-7, 2022, join us for a virtual event in support of teaching artists across the country. Our Shared Future: Imagining a New Landscape for Teaching Artists will feature sessions that dig into the current realities and hopeful futures of teaching artistry.” Arts Education Partnership
Advocacy
The Arts are a Student Right! 3 Simple Steps to Make Schools More Creative “This is a critical moment in the movement for every students’ right to creative expression. Walk away with ready-to-use tools from Create CA, CA PTA, Arts for LA and Arts Eduction Alliance of the Bay Area to advocate for the Arts in your district.” February 3, 2022 CreateCA
Protecting Youth Mental Health – The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory “Our obligation to act is not just medical—it’s moral. I believe that, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have an unprecedented opportunity as a country to rebuild in a way that refocuses our identity and common values, puts people first, and strengthens our connections to each other.” The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory
Ballot Measure To Increase Arts and Music Education in Public Schools Gains Momentum From Funders and Coalition “Funders from across California’s creative economy are joining educators, artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs in supporting the 2022 ballot measure to increase funding for arts and music education in public Pre-K-12 schools.” GlobeNewswire
Policy
L.A. Unified Orders COVID Testing Before School Resumes Amid High Omicron Anxiety “The baseline testing would supplement ongoing required weekly testing of all students and staff — about 500,000 swabs per week. Families may provide a PCR test or an antigen test — either from a district testing site or from elsewhere. They also may use at-home tests. But officials are asking families to have results uploaded into the district’s Daily Pass system by Sunday, Jan. 9.” LA Times
4 Things to Know About Alberto Carvalho, Los Angeles Unified’s New Superintendent “Alberto Carvalho, Miami-Dade’s long-time, charismatic and controversial schools chief, was selected Thursday by the Los Angeles Unified school board as its next superintendent.” The 74
U.S. Department of Education Launches Two Communities of Practice to Help States Address Impact of the Pandemic on Students “The U.S. Department of Education (Department) launched two new multistate communities of practice to support states in addressing the impact of lost instructional time from the pandemic on students’ social, emotional, and mental health, and academic well-being.” U.S. Department of Education
Not Getting Into it: How Critical Race Theory Laws are Cutting Short Classroom Conversations “Across the country, new laws targeting critical race theory are influencing the small but pivotal decisions educators like Hester make every day: how to answer a student’s question, what articles to read as a class, how to prepare for a lesson.” Chalkbeat
