The Wallis was honored to be selected by Americans for the Arts to help launch National Arts in Education Week September 9-15, 2018. Our Lovelace Studio Theater was the site for several presentations and a panel discussion shared nationally via streaming video. Here is the opening presentation made by Mark Slavkin, Director of Education at The Wallis. You may see a video of the entire event here.
Lessons Learned from LA
I am proud that we can help launch Arts in Education Week here in Los Angeles. For nearly 20 years, we have made steady progress advancing the quality and scope of arts education in LA County. 65 of 81 school districts have adopted policies, plans, and budgets to advance arts education along with several charter management organizations. We have a long way to go, but I think it can be valuable to reflect for a few minutes on some of the key strategies that have proven successful. There are far too many people to thank for their leadership. But I want to recognize some of the key leaders – the LAUSD school boards and superintendents, the Board of Supervisors, LA County Arts Commission, LA County Arts Education Collective, Arts for LA, LA County Office of Education, and many visionary leaders from local foundations and corporations.
These are some of the key ideas that have shaped our work:
School Districts as the unit of change.
In the world after Proposition 13 we got used to a new normal, where arts education was not embedded in the school experience for all students, but was hit and miss. A few arts focused schools and award winning teachers seemed to be good enough. It did not seem “realistic” for school districts to do more than that. Starting with the leadership demonstrated by LAUSD, the focus shifted to understand and appreciate the need for school boards and superintendents to adopt policies, plans, and budgets to provide arts education across an entire district.
Top down and bottom up
Systemic commitments by school districts are essential, but policies alone do not change classroom practice. Bottom up support in the form of quality professional development and additional funding for arts teachers, materials, supplies, and instruments are also required. While teacher support is critical, we must also consider the need to build capacity among principals and school district administrators. Most want to do the right thing when it comes to arts education, but lack prior knowledge or experience. They too need tools and models and guidance on the elements of a quality arts education program and the nuts and bolts needed to make it happen.
Letting go of charity model
In the post Prop 13 world, nonprofits stepped forward to try to “fill the gap,” using philanthropic resources to offer programs to schools often at no cost. This generous impulse is noble and generous to be sure. But it also a barrier to achieving greater public investments. If it seems normal and acceptable for school districts to not invest in the arts, that can become a permanent condition. Instead, we have underscored the fundamental responsibility of school boards to invest their own funds. Nothing else is really sustainable if we want access for all students.
Sustained local advocacy
School boards and superintendents are changing all the time. The adoption of a bold new plan for education is never permanent. Leaders change and the new team may not be aware of the past history. The best way to mitigate the constant turnover is sustained local advocacy. By that I mean cultivating a team of local community members who care about arts education and will stay active and engaged in making sure each new school board member of superintendent is educated about why this community values arts education and expects continued commitment and progress. In California, groups like California Alliance for Arts Education and Arts for LA have provided invaluable training and coaching for local advocates.
All Means All
School districts can make a sincere commitment to increasing arts education and real progress can be made, while certain students remain left behind. Data collection is essential to know what schools are providing what programs for which students. Not surprisingly, those students who might benefit the most get the least. While the arts are widely valued for high-achieving students and are actually required for college admissions in California, arts education is still perceived to be a luxury kids in poverty cannot afford. The misconception is that the arts are “instructional desert,” a sort of reward for those students who have met all the other academic expectations. Too few educators understand how the arts might actually be the very best intervention to engage, inspire, and empower kids struggling in school. We will not achieve equitable access for all students until the arts are valued as a key part of the solution.
Challenges Remain:
Cultural relevance
Like many parts of the school curriculum, arts education is designed, implemented, and advocated mostly by white people. The art forms and artists that are celebrated tend to come from Western European traditions. The genres and traditions of other peoples and cultures are recognized only once in a while, often tied to a particular holiday or week or month. If we are to respect and engage the students in school today, we need to broaden and redefine what “counts” as arts education.
Inadequate state funding
You get what you pay for. Most people understand this. But this is still a novel concept for California voters. We aspire for our schools to be great, but the very structure of taxation in our state means we will never break-out of our status among the bottom tier of states in per-pupil funding. This challenge is far bigger that the question of arts education. It comes down to whether voters are willing to pay more to do better by a generation of kids who may look different than their own.
I remain optimistic. We have made great progress on a very large scale. There is positive momentum in so many schools and districts. These achievements have been made without a massive infusion of new resources, just a sense that we can do much better with that we have. I hope some of these lessons or themes will be useful to other communities considering how they too can move forward and deliver what should be a birthright of all young people – a life enriched and informed by an education in the arts.