Education Week – Liana Heitin
“Low-performing schools that implemented an arts integration program over two years showed improved attendance, fewer suspensions, and substantial gains in academic achievement, according to a new report.In 2012, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, a White House advisory committee, launched a pilot arts program in eight so-called “turnaround” schools—those that are among the lowest-achieving 5 percent in their states. Through the program—which is supported by both public and private groups, including the National Endowment for the Arts, Crayola, and the Ford Foundation—schools receive arts education supplies, professional development, strategic planning, and coaching, and are able to hire additional music, theater, and dance teachers…An evaluation of the program…found that seven out of the eight schools improved in reading proficiency, and six of eight improved in math. Every school improved in at least one of those subjects.”(more)