Read all the research, news, and policy in our arts education RECAP for May 2018.
Research
What Happens to Student Behavior When Schools Prioritize Art
Sir Ken Robinson dives into the story of Orchard Gardens, an elementary school with a history of problems, and how new principal with an arts focus was able to transform the school culture for good.
KQED MindShift
Music lessons improve children’s cognitive skills and academic performance
The first large-scale, longitudinal study adapted into the regular school curriculum finds that structured music lessons significantly enhance children’s cognitive abilities — including language-based reasoning, short-term memory, planning, and inhibition — leading to improved academic performance.
ScienceDaily
Equity
Faced with cancer, these young people picked up a camera
Pablove Shutterbugs, a program offered by the Pablove Foundation, aims at giving children diagnosed with cancer a creative outlet for expression.
KPCC
TED-style art history platform aims to promote arts education online
Heni Talks is a new website that presents video arts education courses. Subjects range from important works such as the Mona Lisa, and the oeuvre of masters such as Cézanne, to art movements like Pop art and Modernism.
The Art Newspaper
How Art Therapy Is Helping Children with Autism Express Themselves
For individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), art can be an ideal means of expression. Researchers and leaders in the field of autism education, like Temple Grandin, have done well to explain that individuals with ASD tend to think visually.
Artsy
Calls-to-Action
May 15: FY18-19 Art-in-the-Schools
May 21: Focus Group Members Needed for the Revision of the VAPA Framework for California Public Schools
June 1: 2018 AEP Annual Convening Call for Concurrent Session Proposals
June 1: Doug Risner Prize for Emerging Dance Researchers
June 15: Navigating New Horizons in Art Education: Call for 2018 CAEA Conference Workshops
Advocacy
At Summit, Educators Explore Ways to Make Art a Focus
How can we utilize the arts to address deep-seated problems in education, public health, and sustainability? That was the question posed to the artists, educators, and innovators who gathered in Washington on April 16 for the fifth annual Kennedy Center Arts Summit. Over the course of the day, performers, panelists, and audience members considered the potential for art to effect change and eliminate inequities.
Education Week
South Bend parents petition against any cuts in fine arts classes
Some local families are concerned the South Bend Community School Corp. Focus 2018 reorganization plan might mean a reduction in the amount of time devoted to arts education for their children.
South Bend Tribune
Policy
New York state inches closer to a new arts assessment that can be used on students’ path to graduation
New York state’s top policymakers considered new assessment options during a discussion about how to test students’ knowledge in areas such as visual arts, music, and theater.
Chalkbeat
Genesee County voters asked to approve arts education and cultural enrichment tax
Voters in Genesee County will be asked to approve a tax increase in August that would help fund a variety of arts and cultural institutions. The Genesee County Board of Commissioners approved placing the measure on the Aug. 7 primary election ballot, seeking a 0.96-mill tax increase for 10 years.
ABC12 WJRT
Commentary: Utah’s art education policy hurts culture and economy
The direction that the Utah Board of Education has taken on art education is counter to the needs of students within the Utah K-12 system. Utah’s Board of Education decided to make art classes electives rather than part of the required curriculum.
The Salt Lake Tribune
