The Blue Moon is published bi-monthly by the Kentucky Arts
Council, a state agency in the Commerce
Cabinet. Please send comments, questions
and information to the Blue Moon, Kentucky Arts Council, 500 Mero Street, 21st
Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601-1987 or call 502-564-3757, toll free 1-888-833-2787.
E-mail: kyarts@ky.gov
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Artist Wayne Ferguson engages students with pottery at Black Mountain Elementary
School in Harlan County.
By Dennis Horn, The Collaborative for Teaching and Learning
In a first-time attempt to gauge the status of arts education in Kentucky
public schools the Kentucky Arts Council contracted with the Collaborative
for Teaching and Learning to design and conduct a comprehensive state-wide
survey of school districts to create a snapshot view of the condition
of arts education in the commonwealth’s 176 county and independent
school districts. For years Kentucky arts educators and others have feared
that the state of arts education in the schools was on a downward trend,
and for years our suspicions and gut feelings have gone untested. This
survey project is an attempt to gain an accurate understanding, comfortable
or otherwise, that has up till now been absent.
It is hoped that this study will assist state-level arts and education
partners and others in their ability to plan accordingly, advocate appropriately
and support schools unceasingly. The Status of Arts Education in Kentucky
Public Schools survey will provide baseline data upon which agencies
like the Kentucky Arts Council and the other state-level partners in
the project, and local level arts and cultural organizations can begin
to design education outreach efforts around appropriate needs and gaps
identified in the final report. However, to begin this kind of informed
planning, organizations and individuals must have an accurate understand
of what currently exists in schools.
Since it is often difficult to ascertain precisely how to build programs
and outreach efforts that are most effective in addressing the needs
of schools, the survey included a comprehensive set of questions addressing
a wide range of school arts services and programs, falling generally
under the following categories:
- Teachers, Support Personnel and Community Involvement
- Curriculum and
Instruction
- Arts Core Content for Assessment and Program of Studies
- Residencies,
Field Trips, Extra Curricular Activities, Use of Resources
- Facilities
and Technology
In addition to the Kentucky Arts Council and the Collaborative for Teaching
and Learning, the survey project was undertaken with the support of the
following state partners: Kentucky Department of Education; Kentucky
Educational Television; Kentucky Alliance for Arts Education; and the
Kentucky Center.
Preliminary Findings
Though the final report is not yet complete
as of the copy deadline for this issue of the Blue Moon, preliminary
findings can be shared with our readers. For this study, 135 districts
out of 176 school districts in Kentucky responded, for a phenomenal 77%
response rate. While in some instances the data indicate that the arts
do not find themselves in quite as dire a condition as many had feared
prior to this study, there are important indicators which, if found to
be trends, will soon cause serious problems. These include:
- The majority report that most
teachers in their district do not consider the arts to be as
important as other academic subjects.
- One in six districts has decreased funding
for the arts over the past five years.
- One in nine districts has reduced
the number of certified arts specialists over the past five years.
- On
average across all grade levels Pre-K-12, districts report employing
certified visual art and music teachers at 64% and 77% respectively,
and qualified dance and drama teachers at 7% and 12% respectively.
- In
terms of time spent on the arts, dance and drama do not fair nearly
as well as music and visual arts.
- The majority report that they do not
employ central office (district-level) supervisors for the arts.
- The
majority of schools report that there are no district-level meetings
for arts faculty to discuss arts program planning and evaluation,
lessons, materials and resources, etc.
As this is a baseline study and there is no way to determine if these
indicate trends or not, the question for the state partners and others
is: What needs to be done now to ensure that these indications do not
become trends in Kentucky schools? What needs to be done to curb or eliminate
certain inclinations or tendencies in districts and schools that may
well prove to be detrimental to arts education in the very near future?
The Kentucky Arts Council and other state partners for this project are
now considering ways to best make use of the survey findings to bring
attention to the needs and gaps in services that currently exist in schools
arts programs and to help state and local level organizations plan to
better meet the needs of schools for seeing the arts become an essential
part of every child’s education.
However, in many ways this study reveals a positive and encouraging
status about arts education in Kentucky public schools. It can be expected
that with appropriate and targeted support and encouragement from state-level
organizations like the Kentucky Department of Education, the Kentucky
Arts Council, the Kentucky Alliance for Arts Education and others, from
parents and the community, and from educators themselves, the arts will
become a vital part of a comprehensive education for all Kentucky students,
from pre-school through grade 12 and beyond.
The final report will be completed by September 15, 2005 and the Kentucky
Arts Council will make the report available to all those interested.
For more information about the Status of Arts Education in Kentucky Public
Schools survey project, contact Dennis Horn at the Collaborative for
Teaching and Learning: Phone (502) 895-9500 x329 or by email: dhorn@ctlonline.org.
Statistics-At-A-Glance
Following are quick reference statistics for select questions asked
in the survey.
- 100 (83%) of the 120 Kentucky Counties are represented
in this survey.
- 79% of the surveys came from rural districts with up
to 5000 students.
- 83% report no central office leadership for the arts
(no arts supervisors), and 13% report having one arts supervisor.
- Of
the 24 districts reporting that there is at least one arts supervisor
in the district, 67% use the catch-all title Arts and Humanities
coordinator, 63% Music, 54% Visual Arts and Drama, and 46% Dance.
- 80% report that encouragement
for the arts comes primarily from their Board of Education, followed
by Parents, then by Other Teachers (non-arts specialists), then
by Arts Specialists, then by the Community.
- 45% report that spending on the
arts in their district over the past five years has remained the
same, 37% say spending has increased, and 18% say spending has decreased.
- 64%
report that the number of certified arts specialists in their district
over the past five years has remained the same, 25% say the number
has increased, and 11% say the number has decreased.
- 87% report that
there are no board-approved philosophy statements supporting the
arts in education.
- As far as the existence of official policies or other
documents supporting the arts, 54% and 59% report that the arts
are included in their Comprehensive District Improvement Plans (CDIP)
and Comprehensive School Improvement Plans (CSIP) respectively, with
30% reporting that there are no policies or documents in place supporting
the arts in education.
- 43% report that other than funding, there is average
need in terms of the arts program for Arts Professional Development
for Teachers and Specialists, and 37% report an average need for
Arts Professional Development for Administrators, followed by a need
for Advocacy, arts Materials and Supplies, Understanding the Arts as
a Critical Part of a Complete Education, then Flexibility in Scheduling.
- The majority
report that Teacher Observation is the primary way student achievement
in the arts is measured (beyond the CATS assessment), followed
by Open Response, then by Multiple Choice Questions.
- 99% report that their district
supports the Creating and Performing components of the state-mandated
Program of Studies in each art form through Hands-On Classroom
Activities, followed by Exhibitions/Performances (93%), then Technology-Based
(websites, video, etc.)
- Regarding district-level efforts to assist schools with
implementing the state Program of Studies in each art form, 92%
report that Curriculum Maps and Guides are provided followed by district
support for Professional Development by Other Providers (80%).
- 48% report that
the required high school Carnegie Unit for the arts is delivered
through a single course with one teacher, followed by 39% being taught
through an existing arts course.
- 94% report that arts grades are used in determining
student GPA and 96% report that arts grades are used in determining
student eligibility for the honor roll.
- 73% report that arts teachers
have input into placement decisions for gifted students who are
mainstreamed into arts classes, followed by 64% for students with IEPs.
- 61% report
that students identified as gifted in the arts receive services
through pull-out and classroom grouping, while 56% receive individualized
instruction.
- Regarding
any artist residencies sponsored by schools over the past three
years, elementary level dance (37%), storytelling (36%), and music
(33%) were the most prevalent, followed by middle level dance (27%),
drama (24%) and music (24%).
- Middle level and high school level
music have the most school-sponsored after-school or weekend activities
available at 60% and 66% respectively, followed by middle level
and high school level drama activities at 41% and 55% respectively.
- 59% report
that there are no district-wide arts faculty meetings where lessons,
materials, programs are discussed developed or evaluated on a regular
basis. For the 41% reporting that there are arts faculty meetings,
53% occur each semester and 30% occur quarterly.
- Music and visual arts
specialist teachers receive the highest amount of arts professional
development at 43% and 41% respectively, followed by dance and drama
teachers at 28% each.
- 49% report that arts professional development is
most commonly provided by the arts specialists in the district,
followed by educational cooperatives and independent consultants at
40% each.
Who’s teaching the arts?
- The majority report that Visual
Arts is taught by a certified specialist from elementary through
high school, and by a generalist teacher in pre-school.
- The majority report
that Music is taught by a certified specialist from elementary
through high school, and by a generalist teacher in pre-school.
- The majority
report that Dance is taught by the physical education teacher from
elementary through high school, and by a generalist teacher in pre-school.
- The
majority report that Drama is taught by the English/language arts
teacher in middle and high school, and by a generalist teacher in pre-school
and elementary.
How much instructional time for the arts?
- The majority report the following:
- Visual Arts: 31-60 minutes per week
primary through middle school with 81% to 100% of these
minutes being taught by a certified specialist
primary through middle.
- Music: 31-60 minutes per week pre-school through
middle school with
81% to 100% of these minutes being taught by a certified
specialist primary through middle.
- Dance: 1-30 minutes per week pre-school through
middle school with 1%
to 20% of these minutes being taught by a qualified
specialist pre-school through middle.
- Drama: 1-30 minutes per week pre-school through middle
school with 1%
to 20% of these minutes being taught by a qualified
specialist pre-school through middle.
- 86% and 80% report that their high schools offer Visual Arts I and
II respectively. 69% and 65% report that their high schools offer Choir
and Music I respectively. 55% and 22% report that their high schools
offer Drama I and II respectively, and 11% and 2% report that their
high schools offer Dance I and II respectively.
- The majority of schools report
the existence of arts and cultural resources in their community,
but fewer report actually utilizing these resources to enhance or expand
their arts programs. The resources utilized the most include local
artists and craftspeople (51%), followed by the PTO/PTA (41%), then
libraries (40%).
- 90% report that their arts teachers and students most commonly
use the Internet in the arts program, followed by Computers and
Hardware (88%), then Multi-Media (79%).
- The majority report that their teachers
view the arts as Not As Important As Other Academic Subjects with
43% and 45% reporting that visual arts and music are As Important As
Other Academic Subjects respectively, and 19% reporting that dance
is Not Important At All.
- 65% report that their district does not supplement their
report card by providing the community with information about arts
education.
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