When I was working as an arts education consultant in the early 90s, during pretty difficult fiscal times for schools, principals were focused on integrating the arts across the curriculum. I know this, because during this period I was involved in focus groups and interviews with hundreds of principals and school district officials across the country.It was pretty simple: principals didn't have the money nor inclination to hire certified arts teachers. Instead, they looked to utilizing existing staff for the teaching of the arts. At the primary … [Read more...]

I can't tell you how many times I have heard supporters of arts education say: "we need a research project that will prove beyond any doubt what we already know about the benefits of arts education. Then we will really make headway."It's the silver bullet theory. In this case, it's the incontrovertible piece of research that will flip the switch. The silver bullet theory has been at play in the movements: small schools, charter schools, vouchers, accountability, etc.Okay, here's Diane Ravitch taking on the silver bullet theory that the Gates … [Read more...]

Thanks to New York State politics, the cuts to NYSCA as proposed by Governor Patterson will not be taking place. Phew....With state budget deficits growing, what happened here may be worth noting carefully, very carefully.It raises the question of exactly how prepared we all are to advocate during a period of budget reductions. In this instance, had the New York State Legislature had a different make-up in terms of the Senate majority, we might have seen a harsh and unfair cut to the NYSCA budget occur on a mid-year basis with barely a week for … [Read more...]

The budget for the State of New York has a big hole in it, this year and next. Governor David Patterson has proposed major cuts, some call it amputations, to the NYSCA budget.A cut of $2.6 million occurred just a short time ago. Now the Governor has proposed an additional cut of $7 million. All totaled, this is a near 20 percent cut, reducing the NYSCA budget to $39 million, from $49 million just a short while ago.And, get a load of how it works: those who received grant awards in panels held before October receive their grants. If you were in … [Read more...]

Michelle Rhee, DC Schools Chancellor, has unveiled non-tenure track pilot program for teachers in the DC public school system. With the help of private foundations, Rhee will offer this non-tenure track for teachers, in exchange for significantly increased pay.Teacher tenure: it's the boogie-man of school administrators and free marketeers. But you know, it's like anything else: of course there are good and bad teachers, as well as those in the middle. Just as there are good and bad administrators, schools board members, janitors, major … [Read more...]

I bet this will be my most viewed blog.The big news here is that Gates, as many people already knew, will be moving away from its focus on the creation of small schools. It will be interesting to see what happens to the small school movement, particularly those districts that are in the middle or early stages of development. Here is an excerpt from Liz Green's piece from Gotham Schools. You can view her entire report here.The plan will transform the foundation's education work from expensive but quiet investments that focus on a relatively … [Read more...]

My colleague said to me that "the arts are a core subject in NCLB and that alerting policy makers of this can have a powerful positive affect."It's true, NCLB does include arts education as one of the 10 core subjects.In reality that's a policy fantasy. "Follow the money," said another colleague. Or, "the only accountability is financial accountability," said a senior education administrator. I like that last quote. It rings true to me.So, what's happened under NCLB? Perhaps the best take on this is from Jack Jennings at the Center on Education … [Read more...]

I thought about it yesterday, what music did I want to listen to, as I was sitting on the train thinking about the election. This morning, I turned to Aaron Copland and his Appalachian Spring, created in 1944 for Martha Graham, with an original set by Noguchi.It seemed just right for the moment. Our composer from Brooklyn, a gay man who was a true progressive democrat, who worked to make the world a better place for his fellow artists, creating organizations and opportunity, fighting for the rights of artists, while arguing that classical music … [Read more...]

I used to love the old fashioned voting booth, where you pushed down a little thingamabob to your candidate's name, and then when done, you would move the handle from one side to the other, which required a bit of muscle, and then you heard a thump, the sound of the machine registering your vote.And then, someone from the polling place would move the handle back to reset it, preparing the next person to vote.That's the sort of machine I used up until recently.Okay, today, I get to the polling place, and the new fangled machine is broken. (It's … [Read more...]