Not enough of our schools have certified, in-school arts teachers, but even those that do all too often relegate those arts teachers to second-class status in the school. Along with P.E. and Library, arts education is a “special” – a period used to “cover” students while the rest of the faculty has grade level meetings or has a “prep”. Often, a visual arts teacher does not have his or her own room, rattling through the hallways with “art on a cart”. Insufficient supplies. No running water. Musical presentations are made in lunchatoriums that are acoustically hopeless. Administration of partnerships with external arts organizations is often assigned to arts teachers without their participation in or even approval of the planning of the partnership.
What to do about this?
Ask your school’s administration to include your arts teachers more directly in whole school planning. Ask your school’s administration to dedicate some in-school professional development time to your arts teachers explaining the state standards in the arts to your school’s whole faculty. Help develop and implement a cross-school collaboration with another school that includes classroom teachers and arts teachers from both schools. Co-plan and co-implement parent and child arts nights with your arts teachers.
Talk to local businesses, libraries, and cultural institutions about providing free space for exhibitions and performances of work produced by students working with your arts teachers. Talk to local cultural institutions about offering free master classes in the arts to local arts teachers. If you have access to local media, pitch interviews with your arts teachers to print, radio, and television. If you have access to leaders at the district level, explore opportunities with your principal for arts teachers to have their own professional development with other arts teachers across your school district. Talk to your arts teachers about their ideas.
Schools crave parent involvement. Parents participating in any of the above suggestions could be very attractive to school administrations.
Use your parent power! Support your local arts teachers!
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