WILMINGTON, MA – Wilmington School Superintendent Mary DeLai published her weekly blog post on Sunday, discussing the importance of art education. Read DeLai’s blog post HERE or below:
This is one of my favorite times of the year for so many reasons, most notably the proliferation of celebrations of the arts in our schools. This week in particular included three stellar examples including the Strings vertical concert, the Band vertical concert, and the district Art Show. Of course, there are more opportunities to come in the weeks ahead, including Choral performances at many schools and the WHS Lamplighters presentation of CATS. Each time I attend any of these amazing events, I am reminded of just how important arts education is to the growth and development of our students.
Theories abound with respect to how arts education improves student achievement and certainly it is important to take note of this research. Studies have shown that students who receive instruction in the arts have improved memory and focus, stronger communication skills, closer observation and listening abilities, and stronger engagement and motivation to learn. In addition, research has demonstrated strong connections between arts education and social and emotional competency including stronger ability to self-regulate as well as improved self-awareness, self-confidence, and self-efficacy.
In our district, we are working to infuse universal design principles into our lessons and instructional practice. Essentially, universal design for the learning environment is the same as what we see in architecture and engineering. We design in a way that allows all individuals to access a building, a location, or the benefits of a particular product or service. Arts education is critical to universal design principles which remind us that we have to provide all students with multiple ways to access the curriculum, multiple ways to engage in classroom instruction, and multiple ways to show us that they have learned what we want them to learn. Some of the most engaging lessons that I have observed in our classrooms involve teachers using music or artwork to engage students around a particular topic. Similarly, we see teachers encouraging students to show what they have learned by writing and performing a song, drawing a picture, or performing a play that they have written about a subject, for example, how the Civil Rights movement impacted American society.
These are all important reasons to support and maintain arts education in our schools but what I am most impressed with as I observe students engaged in performing and fine arts is the opportunity for meaningful and thoughtful self-expression. Each performer brings with him or her their unique perspectives and desires as they play the notes on the page or recite the script of the play. Each artist uses his or her medium in varying ways to express their feelings and views of the world. Our students’ work is an expression of who they are and, for many, may be the one and only way that they feel safe or confident to express their reality. To me, this is one of the most powerful reasons to ensure that we continue to offer arts education to our students.
We all know that the perfect storm of economic downturn that has constrained state and local budgets combined with the era of high stakes accountability driven by standardized math and language arts testing has proven to be a challenge to maintaining strong arts education in schools. Wilmington is fortunate to have weathered this storm reasonably well due in no small part to the very strong community and parental support that we receive from the residents of our town. It is also due to the very strong commitment of educators in our district, most notably arts educators.
I am optimistic about the future of arts education in our district, our state, and our nation. The newly signed Every Student Succeeds Act contains language that will hopefully allow districts to access federal dollars to enhance arts education and time spent on encouraging creativity in our classrooms. It is evident that policy makers at the state and federal level are finally recognizing the value and importance of arts education not only for improving student achievement, but for developing good citizens and the creators and innovators of the future. We thank you all for your continued support for our arts education programs and we look forward to seeing you at all of the wonderful events ahead that celebrate the creativity and talent of our well-rounded students.
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