The Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) at Indiana University’s Center for Postsecondary Research addresses the previously unanswered question of what happens to alumni of performing and visual arts in its report, Forks in the Road: The Many Paths of Arts Alumni. Stereotypes and misconceptions abounded about what these graduates were doing, with one of the most common being that they are unable to find work in their desired field and therefore are forced to take jobs outside of their desired field. After receiving 13,581 responses, SNAAP was able to dispel that myth and provide a clearer picture of the activities of these graduates.
Arts Education/Youth
The Role of the Arts in Educating America for Great Leadership and Economic Strength
The 2010 National Arts Policy Roundtable, The Role of the Arts in Educating America for Great Leadership and Economic Strength, focused on the role of the arts in answering the national imperative to improve education in order to meet the global challenges we face. This report is a summary of the findings of this convening at the Sundance Institute in September 2010.
National Arts Advocacy Campaigns: Overview of Case Studies and Good Practice
Based on research and responses to a survey distributed in August 2009 to the IFACCA network, the report examined a range of lobbying, advertising and grassroots arts advocacy campaigns that national arts funding agencies have undertaken over the past decade. The report also explores which strategies raised awareness of the arts and which backfired. The report is full of useful information, including the finding that a more effective way to appeal to parents is to use specific phrases such as “your kids” or “your children” rather than the generic “kids” or “children.” Other information — such as finding that many find the term “the arts” vague and confusing — present new challenges for arts advocates as we consider our work for the next year.
Teaching Artists and Their Work: Results of an Online Survey
This report shows the results of Teaching Artists and Their Work Survey: ATA’s Survey on What are Meaningful, Supportable, and Sustainable Environments for the Work of a Teaching Artist. The focus of the survey, conducted between September 2009 and March 2010 was Teaching Artists’ experiential knowledge. Teaching Artists’ from fifty states and the District of Columbia responded to the survey.
Arts for All: Case Studies in LA County
In 2008, the Arts for All Executive Committee commissioned Lynn Waldorf to conduct a series of case studies on the eleven vanguard school districts that joined the initiative within its first five years. The case studies document the progress made and issues confronted by each school district during the early stages of planning and implementing their arts plans. Key findings include:
- Half the Vanguard Districts adopted standards-based sequential curricula in music and visual arts within three years of initiating implementation. Fewer than 20 percent have added dance or theatre.
- 82% of Vanguard Districts reported they joined the Arts for All initiative to replace a patchwork approach to arts education with sequential instruction. Approximately half were also motivated by the opportunity to improve equitable access for all students.
- All the Vanguard Districts had either hired or assigned someone to coordinate the arts education reform effort–a factor that was considered critical to achieving their goals. In general, districts with full-time coordinators in administrative positions were able to progress the furthest.
Staying In School – Arts Education and New York City High School Graduation Rates
In New York City, the cultural capital of the world, public school students do not enjoy equal access to an arts education. In fact, in schools with the lowest graduation rates – where the arts could have the greatest impact–students have the least opportunity to participate in arts learning.
This report takes the first ever look at the relationship between school-based arts education and high school graduation rates in New York City public schools. The findings, based on data collected by the New York City Department of Education (DOE), strongly suggest that the arts play a key role in keeping students in high school and graduating on time.
