While reducing arts from the school curriculum is part of a growing national trend, Pennsylvania is one of only 7 states that do not require schools or districts to provide arts instruction. Because schools in Philadelphia are under greater budgetary constraints than those in other parts of the state, arts education in the city is overwhelmingly minimal. According to a School District report, 109 public schools in Philadelphia did not have an art teacher in 2006. In 2007, there were literally no art teachers in the city's public middle and high schools.
Jerry Jordan, the President of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers is an advocate of arts education, believing that arts involvement enhances academic achievement and attendance rates. Recent studies have confirmed these facts. Young people who participate in the arts for at least 9 hours per week for a full year are 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, 3 times more likely to be elected to class office, and 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance.
If arts education is so critical to the learning process, why is it disappearing from our schools?
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was implemented in January 2002 "to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their peers". While NCLB technically reaffirms the arts as a core academic subject, it actually reduces the importance of arts instruction, by inadvertently encouraging schools to "teach to the test". Such pressures coupled with insufficient funding can force principals to cut arts programs from their curriculum altogether.
Unfortunately, this trend is contributing to the learning gap. Studies reveal that on a national level, children from low-income families are less likely to be consistently involved in arts activities than children from high-income families. This is the case in Philadelphia, due to disparate levels of funding allotted to inner-city and suburban schools. Without the proper funding, city schools are less likely to have outstanding arts programs like their suburban counterparts. Consequently, their students cannot reap the benefits of an arts education, which include higher standardized test scores, better classroom performance, and a higher attendance record.
It is our responsibility to ensure that all students are given a quality arts education. In the meantime, organizations such as the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the NEA’s Learning in the Arts for Children & Youth are helping to provide arts instruction to Philadelphia’s youth. The Philadelphia Children’s Foundation is also developing an ongoing photography program for disadvantaged high school students, entitled “Life through the Lens”. In the words of former US Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, "From music and dance to painting and sculpture, the arts allow us to explore new worlds."
