State of Arts Education in Nebraska Survey

Read complete survey summary here.

It’s as Easy as ABC:
The Arts Belong in the Curriculum

The Nebraska Department of Education, the Nebraska Arts Council, and the Nebraska Alliance for Arts Education recently conducted The State of Arts Education in Nebraska online survey. The results were collected from 529 surveys completed in April and May of 2005, and were targeted to superintendents, school administrators, principals, and teachers of the visual arts, music, theater, and dance at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels.

Why:

Before we can know how to improve arts education in Nebraska’s schools, we need to know what needs to be changed. This research project was implemented to identify opinions and perceptions regarding the current state of arts education in Nebraska.

What we wanted to learn:

How do arts education programs in Nebraska schools fare when compared to research about best practices? “Gaining the Arts Advantage: Lessons from School Districts that Value Arts Education” was a national study conducted by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities and the National Arts Education Partnership. This study found that critical requirements for a successful arts education include:

• a community engaged and in support of arts education
• a school board with an arts education policy
• a Superintendent with a vision for arts education
• a cadre of principals that support arts education
• teachers who practice their art and are encouraged by their district
• district arts coordinator(s) who facilitate and maintain arts programs
• parent/public relations programs that inform the community

Our survey questions were based on these findings, and were targeted to superintendents, school administrators, principals, and teachers of the visual arts, music, theater, and dance at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels.

Findings and Conclusions:

• Advocacy
  • Targets:
  • The arts need better-informed administrators
  • The arts need stronger community support
  • Parents need to be encouraged and educated about supporting the arts
  • Potential funders need to see why supporting the arts financially is important to education
  • Needed resources:
  • Advocacy resources
  • Arts education resources
  • Prepared talking points
  • The Nebraska Alliance for Arts Education needs to provide available resources, condense what we already have, and improve our PR skills
  • We need to share examples from schools in the community to create the personal touch
• Equity is essential for all students in the arts:
  • All students deserve excellent facilities
  • All students deserve access to sound resources
  • All students deserve to be taught by certified teachers
• Connections, collaborations & partnerships for arts educators need to be fostered through:
  • Mentorships
  • Professional development opportunities
  • Better relationships with and support from Nebraska’s cultural community and our colleges and universities
• Communication
  • The arts community needs a stronger relationship with the media
  • Arts supporters need to strengthen our voices as we tell our stories
  • Our message needs to be targeted, specific, and clear
  • We need effective spokespersons
• We need a full time arts consultant at the Department of Education

What You Can Do:

• Ask teachers what they need the most and explore ways to raise additional funds for the arts, such as through the Nebraska Arts Council, Kiwanis or Rotary groups, or Adopt-a-School programs.
• Become a member of the Nebraska Alliance for Arts Education. Form local arts education support groups at the district level.
• Call your school. Find out how much your school spends on the arts—staff salary, supplies, facilities. To prevent future cuts to arts funding, ask your school board for a formal arts policy placing the value of the arts in the curriculum at the same level of other subject areas.

Copyright © The Nebraska Alliance for Arts Education