January 3, 2008
The report from the New Jersey Arts Education Census Project, WITHIN OUR POWER: The Progress, Plight and Promise of Arts Education for Every Child, was released in September 2007. The project took three years to complete and is one of the most comprehensive reviews of arts education ever conducted on a statewide basis; more than 98% of all New Jersey schools participated. WITHIN OUR POWER offers a realistic picture of the state of arts education in NJ schools. More importantly, it reveals where existing resources should be focused to strengthen student access to arts education and ensure that all NJ students get the complete education they deserve.
The Department of Education, through the direction of the Commissioner of Education, is now working with County superintendents to identify issues in areas where scores were low. And the newly formed New Jersey Arts Education Partnership (a natural outgrowth of this project’s collaborative nature) has transformed the report’s findings and recommendations into a statewide strategic plan. Members will be actively involved as State officials centralize, maintain and distribute arts education information statewide.
WITHIN OUR POWER, available at www.artsednj.org as a free download, contains extensive findings and recommendations for five major areas: policies, students, teachers, resources and the community. The full report provides surveys used, information about project partners, a summary, and individual school and district arts index scores. All can be used as a model for other states.
NJ Dept. of Education Mandated School Participation
This project marks the first time the Department of Education has collected information about the implementation of the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards for visual and performing arts. By mandating that public schools participate in the survey, the NJ DOE clearly endorsed a complete education that includes the arts as a means of preparing students for the 21st century workplace.
The discoveries revealed in WITHIN OUR POWER confirm and disprove some widely held assumptions. Here are a few key findings:
- While 94% of our students have access to some arts education in their schools, the majority of NJ public schools fail to offer instruction in all four arts disciplines as required (Dance, Music, Theater and Visual Art).
- School size, along with influence of educators and parents – not socioeconomic factors – impacts the level of arts in schools.
- 75,000+ students attend schools every day with no access to arts education.
- 81% of schools have updated curricula to reflect the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards in the Visual and Performing Arts; 19% have not.
- 95% of schools use certified arts specialists as primary providers of music and visual arts instruction, with much lower percentages for theater (59%) and dance (44%) instruction.
- Per-pupil arts spending (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 NJ Public Schools interact with 1,000+ community arts organizations to enhance visual and performing arts in schools.
Getting Started in Your State
If you’re ready to mount an arts education survey project in your state:
• EXAMINE your state’s policies on arts education. Each state is different and there is no uniformity. The approach taken with this NJ survey can be modified to suit your state’s needs in consultation.
• ASK your State Commissioner of Education in coalition with other like-minded organizations to mandate public school participation.
• TALK with education and business leaders about the status and condition of arts education, and the need to ensure there’s an appropriate environment for arts learning to occur.
• COLLABORATE and FORM PARTNERSHIPS: This project had the support and active involvement of two State government agencies, dozens of organizations, hundreds of people and thousands of schools; business community partners would also be assets. Expect to work long and hard to make it happen.
• FOCUS on identifying areas of need. Conducting a survey is not a punitive process, or a test; it is a way to connect resources, tools and information to schools so students benefit from a complete education that includes the arts.
• COUNT and VERIFY: The only way to challenge existing assumptions and create accountability on behalf of students is with hard data. If you want the arts for all children, you must first know who has access and who does not.
Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way
WITHIN OUR POWER documents New Jersey’s great strides in achieving equal access to arts education for all students, but much work remains to be done. A number of important recommendations – regarding student access, implementation of existing state policies, restoration of arts education, professional development for teachers and administrators, budgetary allocations and more – are now our state’s “to-do list.” These recommendations are detailed in the full report.
As advocates for music education, we must put our faith in State level policies that advance the arts, and we must demand a way to verify how those policies are implemented in our schools.
Lack of information is the biggest barrier to creating the change we want, state by state. If we are committed to securing access to arts education for all students, we need to gather information to empower our music education community.
Leaders and citizen advocates in every state: isn’t it time to ask your public school leaders to start counting?
-- Bob Morrison is Chairman Emeritus for Music For All, Inc., and a collaborating partner in the NJ Arts Education Census Project.
