Read all the research, news, and policy in our arts education RECAP for September 2020.
Research
Los Angeles Superintendent Calls $150M COVID-19 Testing Effort ‘Necessary and Appropriate,’ but What He Really Wants Is a National Plan While the Los Angeles Unified School District is not opening its schools anytime soon, the system’s massive COVID-19 testing and tracing initiative could be the “missing piece” that will allow students to return to classrooms and keep them there, said Superintendent Austin Beutner. The74
As the Coronavirus Upends Schools, Experts Say Don’t Forget the Arts Arts education often is seen as a frill. But research shows it boosts educational performance. Exposure to the arts can have direct and indirect benefits to mental and physical health. Far from being a luxury, they fill an essential human need. The Telegraph
State Data Can Help Address Arts Ed Needs During and After the Pandemic Policymakers and communities urgently need data to address the pandemic’s impact on students’ participation in arts education. Data can also expose structural inequities that deny students of color and students from low-income households’ access to the fortifying power of the arts in their schools. The toolkit will help you find, analyze and report on such data, which most states already collect. EdNote
Equity
Disaster Relief Resources for California Artists & Communities The California Arts Council maintains this webpage dedicated to resources for Californians who have been affected by recent natural disasters in our state. Page content is regularly updated as new information becomes available. California Arts Council
USDA Changes Course on School Meals, Allowing Schools to Serve Free Lunch to All Children The move permits schools to offer food to all kids, regardless of income or enrollment, through the end of 2020 “as funding allows.” The Counter
As Education Leaders Plan for Fall, They Must Look Beyond COVID Toward Making Dramatic Changes to Protect Students of Color The two forces that have overtaken our nation – COVID-19 and the long-needed outcries against systemic racism – demand a new way of leading schools. These forces have laid bare and exacerbated the inequities and disparities that have lived in the bones of our school systems for generations. The74
Four Equity Themes All School Leaders Should Address A coalition of groups representing students with disabilities, English-language learners, students of color, and others have created a rubric that covers four essential components: access, capacity, opportunities, and outcomes. Education Week
Calls-to-Action
Local Advocacy Webinar Series Tune in on September 14 to hear our CEO, Kristen Paglia, along with several other arts education leaders speak about how arts organizations are adapting to the virtual environment. Then tune in on September 30 for their Student Role and Participation in Advocacy webinar. CA Alliance for Arts Education
The Arts & SEL: A Synergistic Pairing State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education cordially invites you to attend a virtual summit, to be streamed on Friday, September 25. This half-day afternoon event will explore the synergistic relationships between the arts and Social and Emotional Learning. SEADAE
Advocacy
The Coronavirus vs. Arts Education Even in this new world of distance learning, schools must provide students with a full curriculum — and a full curriculum includes the arts. California law specifies that the arts should include instruction (in grades 1-6) or courses (in grades 7-12) in four disciplines: dance, drama and theatre, music, and visual arts. Ed100
Reimagine Our Schools as a School-to-Museum Pipeline for Black Students Kemuel Benyehudah denounces the school-to-prison pipeline and presents an alternative that also addresses the underrepresentation of Black students in the creative economy and museums. Kemuel’s strong argument is for less School Resource Officers and more Culturally Specific Organizations. artblog
Tribute to the Late Sir Ken Robinson, Renowned Education Reformer Whose 2006 TED Talk Remains the Most Popular Ever Robinson’s career was focused on changing schools so that they nurture creativity in kids through instruction that is personalized and customized for the communities where students live. Education, he said, is a “human process” that takes into account who students are and what engages them. That, he said, “is the core of what education is,” but it is not most schools are focused on. The Washington Post
Anti-Racist Art Teachers Tons of resources to help art teachers work towards removing biases, stereotypes, and false narratives in arts education. Anti-Racist Art Teachers
Policy
Most Teachers Concerned About In-Person School; 2 In 3 Want To Start The Year Online As the school year starts in many districts across the country, a new national poll of teachers from NPR/Ipsos finds overwhelming trepidation about returning to the physical classroom. NPR
Kick Out School Resource Officers? Sure. But Counselors Must Be Brought In to Take Their Place Having more counselors also means more deep adult-student relationships in schools, which helps ensure that students get attention according to their individual circumstances rather than clumsy initiatives based on broad assumptions, or nothing at all. The74
Black History Instruction Gets New Emphasis in Many States After a summer of demonstrations against racism, states, school boards, school systems and teachers across the country are grappling with how to ramp up Black history lessons. Black history instruction tends to focus on three areas — enslavement, the Civil War and the civil rights movement — and often is shoehorned into Black History Month in February, the shortest month of the year. Now some states, schools and teachers are moving to infuse the Black experience into the broader social studies curriculum. PEW
UC Must Immediately Drop Use of the SAT and ACT for Admissions and Scholarships, Judge Rules The ruling came in a lawsuit asserting that the use of standardized test scores is broadly biased — and particularly detrimental to students with disabilities who seek to take the test during the coronavirus crisis. LA Times
