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Youth Arts Month celebrates the incredible work by New Hampshire students in dance, theatre, media, visual arts, creative writing, and music education. The arts prepare students to be college and career ready and contribute to their communities civically and economically. In New Hampshire, Arts Education is supported by national voluntary standards that promote sequential learning and improvement. A strong education in the Arts is essential for workforce development and research confirms these benefits:
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Students involved in the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement.
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Students with high arts participation and low socioeconomic status have a 4 percent dropout rate—five times lower than their low socioeconomic status peers.
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Students who take four years of arts and music classes average almost 100 points higher on their SAT scores than students who take only one-half year or less.
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Low-income students who are highly engaged in the arts are twice as likely to graduate college as their peers with no arts education.
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Students with low socioeconomic status (SES) with a high participation in the arts have a dropout rate of 4 percent, but their peers with a low participation in the arts have a dropout rate of 22 percent.
- 72 percent of business leaders say that creativity is the number one skill they are seeking when hiring.
(full source list: Americans for the Arts Arts Education Navigator, facts and figures)
These outcomes have lasting impact on the lives of our students and a strong arts education should be accessible to all NH youth regardless of socioeconomic status or geographic location. Data confirms that students with rich arts experiences have overall increased academic achievement and strengthened social and emotional learning; yet arts educators and courses are often among the first to be cut or proposed for reduction. Here are some ways NH districts can improve Arts Education in their schools:
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The Arts are a tool for communication and investigation for all subjects. Provide professional development in Arts integration for non-arts educators and school leaders.
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Give students broad pathways to college and career. Evaluate your schedule and guidance recommendations to encourage multiple pathways to college and career. Arts courses should be scheduled so they are accessible to students on any pathway.
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Allow for planning time between Arts Educators and the Special Education team. Arts Educators work with all students in their classrooms and Special Educators often include musical, visual, and movement recommendations in IEPs.
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Employ more full time Arts Educators. In NH, many Arts Educators see 400-600 students every week and serve 2-3 schools. This volume negatively affects the quality of teaching. It is more difficult for educators that are less than full time or visit multiple schools to be fully integrated in the school culture, establish relationships between colleagues and students, or facilitate rigorous assignments.
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STEM is more effective when it has STEAM. Efforts to provide more access to STEM subjects come from our goal for workforce development, yet many employers’ most sought after trait in hiring was creativity. Skills in divergent, convergent, and critical thinking; collaboration; creativity; receiving feedback; and perseverance are all practiced through the Arts.
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Cultivate professional community connections. Invite Artists in Residence to lead creative and ambitious projects. These professional artists bring real world knowledge for deep experiences with a core group over 3-5 periods.
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Complete a curriculum map for Arts Education in your district and offer after-school programs that fill holes in your offerings. In NH less than 6% of schools offer access to dance or theater during the school day. There is also a critical shortage and inequity in access to courses in media production. Work with community organizations to offer Extended Learning Opportunities in the Arts.
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Adjust schedules so students take Arts classes on consecutive days. More rigorous learning is achievable when students practice skills on consecutive days. It can be easy to forget or lose progress on assignments that are only visited once a week for 40 minutes or less.
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The Arts contain multiple disciplines that should not have to compete for resources and students. In the Tetris puzzle of school scheduling, allow for multiple offerings of arts courses so students don’t have to choose between theatre, visual arts, media, and music all in the same block or period.
The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts invests in Arts education opportunities for students pre K-12 through grants, programs, and services. We evaluate grant funded programs according to quality, access, impact, and diversity. We partner with the NH Department of Education (NHDOE) and other stakeholders to deliver high quality professional development for arts educators, teaching artists, and community educational sites and promote state education policies that are inclusive of the arts.
To learn more about Youth Arts Month, visit the NH Arts Learning Network.
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Photos (top to bottom):
- Belmont Elementary School students working on a mural with Artist in Residence, Lizz Van Saun.
- Ady Shankar of Nashua High School South reciting during the 2018 Poetry Out Loud State Championship. Photo by Cheryl Senter
- SongWorks teens at the Stone Church in Newmarket as part of Arts in Reach afterschool program. Photo by Alex Rose
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