After working on the Community Light Project with the students from the schools in the Grand Center neighborhood and seeing their amazing drum performances with Craig Woodson, I am even more convinced that greater access to arts education is necessary for our city schools.

Because of budget cuts and the No Child Left Behind act that required more stringent adherence to testing for reading and math, art education has become a low priority for many school systems, especially in low-income and urban areas. This is truly unfortunate because art education has wide-ranging benefits besides simply gaining mastery of an art form. Research has shown that children who receive quality art education have increased verbal, reading, and math test scores. They also score higher on SAT’s and other standardized tests. Art education improves focus, motivation, social development, self-confidence, perseverance, and stress reduction. Although the Pulitzer took an approach that was less education focused and more centered around experience and engagement, we still saw the profound effects of art on children’s lives. Cole Elementary students’ intense motivation and focus as they performed their xylophone piece was a perfect example. And if you were watching the boys from Loyola, their dancing drum routine oozed with self-confidence and self-expression. Research also shows that art education improves school community and teacher innovation. In the case of the Community Light Project, the schools benefited not only a strengthening of community internally, but also strengthening of external relationships to institutions like the Pulitzer and the Symphony that can further support the cultural enrichment of their students.

Ultimately, art education has the ability to reduce the drop out rates and close the achievement gap in our school system, as well as create citizens who have an appreciation for art, culture, and aesthetics. As I learn more about art education, and especially how institutions like the Pulitzer can engage schools and students, I will post blog entries. If you have examples of how art education has shaped a school or a student that you know, or if you have insight into how institutions like the Pulitzer can engage students in art, feel free to pass along the info! Leave a comment below. Thanks!