Research suggests Roberts is right. A California State University study found a link between music and literacy, noting that the highest reading scores of any students on campus were from music majors and music education majors. It reduces the staffing needs that rural districts have for the arts. Professor James Catterall of the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies found that regular participation in art classes can raise SAT scores by an average of 91 points. She also produced in-depth reports on wind energy and local food for Montana Public Radio. In an economic downturn, cuts to arts programs are often a quick consideration to budget makers in public schools. 7. For a long time, high school juniors and seniors had a dedicated art teacher who taught class five days a week. Programs that contribute to early childhood education opportunities are essential investments for the success of the next generation. Most states, including Oklahoma, find that it is the rural locations and low-income facilities that are impacted the most by budget cuts to this subject. Most districts only need to have one art teacher per school, which means this resource can stretch further than most administrators realize. Randolph Public School District, located in the Greater Boston, Massachusetts region, has cut their entire K-12 arts, music, and physical education (PE) programs … Anyone who has ever seen a powerful play or admired a painting of transcendent beauty shouldn't have to be convinced that arts matter. Arts classes can serve as a form of inspiration for students. Librarian Brenda Roberts is doing her best to revive the arts in Wanette. Fortunately, however, this trend has reversed somewhat, and school districts are once again developing thriving fine and performing arts programs. School boards cut fine arts programs because they believe it is the easy way out of a financial crisis. Today’s students that go into teaching programs aren’t headed out to the rural districts. As a way to save funds, many schools opt to cut music and art programs. The arts and culture industry of the United States supports almost 5 million jobs each year. Why are schools cutting fine arts programs, and why are they the first to go? School boards must analyze very carefully the long-term ramifications of eliminating the fine arts programs. Although fine arts programs are usually the first to be cut when budget cuts come to schools, fine arts can be considered the most important thing in a child’s education. But aside from enriching our lives, fine arts make kids smarter. Exposure to the arts is proven to be a form of expression and inspiration for students who find themselves in at-risk situations. 2. When children receive time in art education, then there are boosts to their final testing scores. Instead of focusing on what is being tested all of the time, school rankings should be focused on other metrics. Local museums, outside programs, and non-profit agencies are working to fill in the gaps being left by arts programs cut from local schools. Arts encourage students to stay in school when they might otherwise choose to leave. There is a specific reason why this outcome occurs. Art and music programs help keep them in school, make them more committed, enhance collaboration, strengthen ties to the community and to peers, improve motor and spatial and language skills. It also improves the opportunities to find meaningful employment, vote in elections, and seek out volunteer options. Taylor is thankful for the support, but she said it’s not the same as having consistent district art staff. Ongoing budget cuts for art programs are doing significant harm to students; schools at all grade levels need to fund art programs to ensure low-income artistic students are able to express themselves creatively and increase their learning capacities. Creative arts subjects are being cut back in many secondary schools in England, a BBC survey suggests. It is a community that also produces a $26 billion trade surplus that benefits local American economies. The very first programs to go are often disciplines such as music, art and foreign language. Without this structure, kids from rural or poor schools would struggle to find employment opportunities in cultural or creative positions because there is no way to compete with those who actually received an education. StateImpact Oklahoma reports on energy and the environment, education, health, criminal justice, and the intersection of government and everyday Oklahomans. Language and mathematics retention is possible when combined with art and music lessons. School budget cuts are wiping out entire departments, with art classes and programs for at-risk students disappearing fastest, the Daily News has learned. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. StateImpact Oklahoma is a collaboration of KGOU, KOSU, KWGS and KCCU. The presence of music programs in schools is a widely debated topic as a result of the fact that music programs may consume an abundance of time and money. 8. It also widens the gap between the wealthy institutions and the poor ones. What if we could create an artistic standardized test that would also impact the ratings that schools receive for student performance? Arts – and music – typically bring funds when the school charges activity fees to parents. The average annual program budget for art classes in the United States at public schools is around $150,000. She said a bigger hurdle in maintaining these programs could be schools’ difficulty finding certified arts teachers, which is more challenging in rural districts. But three years ago, the less affluent Oklahoma City Public Schools cut 44 art positions. “Over the years of teaching, I’ve noticed it’s the students that do not excel in academic classes that really do well in art. The arts face being squeezed out of schools by a focus on a narrowing range of core subjects. When you cut out half of the equation, then you’re removing that part of the child’s potential. Music can spark a child’s interest in an instrument, giving them an opportunity to travel the world while supporting themselves. “When we look at fine arts programs across the state, we see that rural schools and low-income schools are being affected the most by these budget cuts,” she said. When rich and poor school districts are all cutting arts programs, then it creates more of an equal opportunity for students. School budget cuts are wiping out entire departments, with art classes and programs for at-risk students disappearing fastest, the Daily News has learned. Arts and music programs also help students to perform better academically. That all changed five years ago after budget cuts forced district officials to eliminate the class. 4. Though only a small percentage of students go on to be professional artists and musicians, appreciation and participation in the arts is an important part of the developmental process. It can also improve the coordination between the brain’s hemispheres for students in the K-12 public school. ‘Cutting arts and music programs is worth the savings’: Sarcastic new #SaidNoSchoolEver ad campaign There’s a new ad campaign that is sarcastic but funny and reflects something real: many public schools and teachers don’t nearly enough resources. When we take a look at the pros and cons of cutting art programs in schools, it is clear to see that this action deepens the pre-existing inequalities that already divide urban and rural districts. I would agree that it’s not beneficial for the children to be cutting art programs for schools, but with budgets already being so strenuous, the schools are having a hard time figuring out where they can get the money to keep funding these programs. Most fine art classes do not include extra practice for core (math, science, english) classes. All of those funds dried up. That means you only need to save three students from delinquency to make the program pay for itself. This puts an even greater burden on the school board. On Monday, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), part of the U.S. Department of Education, released the findings of the first nationwide arts survey in a decade that comprehensively documents the state of arts education in U.S. public schools. “Used to, when there was grant money for art, take the entire high school to the art museum in Oklahoma City. 9. If you think that your child or your school is entitled to have arts education programs, you may need to think again. Instead of creating art every day, now the only option for these students is to study the history of art online. Our children deserve a future that teaches them creativity is essential. The Cincinnati native has since reported for KBGA, University of Montana’s college radio station, and Montana’s PBS Newsbrief. Potential cost: $6,0. That’s not the case in Oklahoma City Public Schools, where most students and families can’t afford to pay for arts programs. Rhonda Taylor, the director of visual and performing arts for OKCPS, said schools lost nearly 100 programs across the district. In light of the proposed cuts to arts programs in the 2018 budget, let’s take a minute to reflect on the benefits of public arts programs and what we stand to lose if the budget is approved. Budget Cuts to Art Programs in Schools. It benefits communities with low or middle incomes the most. This petition had 176 supporters. You can find the Wanette School District about 30 miles southeast of Norman in rural Oklahoma. Randolph Public School District, located in the Greater Boston, Massachusetts region, has cut their entire K-12 arts, music, and physical education (PE) programs … Large selective schools like Cass Tech, Renaissance and the Detroit School of the Arts offer several such programs. Roberts hopes lawmakers find a way to increase funding for the arts during the 2019 legislative session. At the announcement, Secretary Arne Duncan pointed to the importance of the report because itContinue Reading But some smaller high schools don’t currently offer music or art. As a society, we cherish our music, movies, TV shows, stand-up comedians, books and Broadway too. More than 1,200 schools responded - over 40% of secondary schools. Arts programs contribute to higher levels of economic growth. Cutting arts programs equalizes the playing field. Giving kids an opportunity to escape into a creative world while at school, even if it is for just a few moments, may offer a lifetime of benefits that is worth considering. 3. In rural Wanette, librarian Brenda Roberts said her students don’t have the same opportunities as their big city counterparts. Our kids are the losers when schools cut out arts programs. In some schools, this resulted in portions of arts programs being completely cut, because of the perceived need to save money and use it to raise test scores. Even if the school must look at an after-school arts program, the estimated annual cost per student in the United States is only $1,000. There are four distinct groups – students, staff, administration, and parents/community members – involved in creating this support for the arts. This advantage is not always looked at in positive ways, but it does stop the problem of having larger districts providing more opportunities to students than the smaller ones. Cutting the money to art programs in schools might seem like it can help to balance a budget, but it only creates short-term benefits. If you are going to teach a child to be a well-rounded adult, then that approach must start with how we structure their education. Even when a class is present, fewer students often take it. “I feel like art is extremely important,” she said. Over 1,000 arts programs were ended in Oklahoma between 2014 to 2018, including the one at the Wanette School District. 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