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The Blue Moon
is published bi-monthly by the Kentucky Arts Council. Please send comments,
questions and information to The Blue Moon, Kentucky Arts Council, Old
Capitol Annex, 300 West Broadway, Frankfort, KY 40601-1980 or call 502/564-3757V/TDD
Toll Free: 1-888-833-2787
E-mail: kyarts@mail.state.ky.us
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Arts
Education Alliance Lends Support for the Arts in Kentucky Schools
 Throughout
the month of May, the Kentucky Alliance
for Arts Education held a series of public meetings in the eight Kentucky
Department of Education service regions in the state in order to gauge
the condition of the arts curriculum from district to district. School
faculty, parents and the general public were invited to attend and to
share their experiences with the arts in education, including successes,
challenges, and ways to improve arts education. At these forums, a survey
was administered after discussion had concluded. The questions and results
follow.
1. Art instruction should be provided to all students in Kentucky.
Strongly Agree 100%
2. Art instruction should include visual art, music, dance and drama
for all students in Kentucky.
Strongly Agree 96%
Agree 4%
3. The arts should remain a part of CATS assessment and be counted in
the accountability index of each school.
Strongly Agree 92%
Agree 4%
Neutral 1%
Disagree 1%
Strongly Disagree 0%
4. Alternative forms of assessment in the arts should be explored; i.e.
performance assessment in only one arts area at high school, etc.
Strongly Agree 61%
Agree 25%
Neutral 8%
Disagree 4%
Strongly Disagree 1%
5. There should continue to be a high school graduation requirement
for the arts.
Strongly Agree 87%
Agree 12%
Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree 0%
6. The Program of Studies for the Arts should be completely aligned
with the National Standards for Education in the Arts.
Strongly Agree 52%
Agree 14%
Neutral 7%
Disagree 6%
Strongly Disagree 13%
Participants included teachers, individual artists, community arts organizations,
parents, students, legislators, representatives of statewide arts agencies
and organizations, and school district arts administrators. In response
to questions about best practices, the Alliance will develop a format
that can be used by diverse arts education providers to report specific
instances, sharing the information in a way that will make it possible
for others to replicate these classroom experiences.
The obstacles faced by arts education providers fell into four general
categories: philosophical, training/professional development, logistics,
and political. Factors contributing to philosophical
challenges include attitude, perception and a lack of integration into
all areas of the curriculum. Training problems consist
of an absence of specialists in the school and opportunities for professional
development. Lack of space, appropriate materials and supplies, and class
sizes contribute to logistical issues. Deficiencies in
administrative support and funding in general, as well as uninformed people
making decisions about curriculum, add to difficulties in the political
area of arts education.
The two most expressed recommendations for improvement dealt with achieving
a better understanding of advocacy and providing more content-driven professional
development. Participants of the original meetings will select one suggestion
for improvement that addresses the issues in one of the four problem areas
(philosophy, logistical, training/professional development, or legal/political).
At the next annual meeting, the Alliance will present the top three recommendations,
which will then be formed into action segments for the coming year.
The Kentucky Alliance for Arts Education is a member of the Kennedy
Center Alliance for Arts Education Network (KCAAEN), a coalition of statewide,
non-profit organizations working to support policies, practices, and partnerships
that ensure that the arts are woven into the very fiber of American education.
For more information, contact:
Kathi E.B. Ellis, Executive
Director
Kentucky Alliance for Arts Education
310 St. Clair Street, Ste. 103-105
Frankfort, KY 40601
PHONE: (502) 875-4266
FAX: (502) 875-4677
WEB: www.kyartsed.org
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