National Arts in Education Week coming up

You are invited to participate in the National Arts in Education Week for 2017! Set for September 10-16, this week is a special time for the field of arts education and its supporters to join together in communities across the country to tell the story of the transformative power of the arts in education.

Designated by Congress in 2010, House Resolution 275 names the week beginning with the second Sunday in September as National Arts in Education Week. In 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act was signed into law and its many arts-friendly provisions began to take effect.

However, the Administration recently proposed drastic cuts to the funding for these arts-friendly measures. Supporters of arts education are being encouraged to sign the petition to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to embolden her to take action in ensuring equitable access to arts education so that every student in America succeeds.

This fall, municipal, education and state leaders will be engaged in planning, budgeting and enacting laws that will impact arts education. The organization Americans for the Arts says they need to know about the impact the arts have on young peoples’ lives and that they must support the arts in every community and every school in America. To remind them of this, arts supporters are being asked to write a letter to the editor of their local newspaper using Americans for the Arts’ customizable template to tell them how and why the arts matter in education.

By taking action now, supporters will join the movement of thousands of arts education advocates celebrating National Arts in Education Week. There are a number of others ways they can participate through social media too. They can take part in the visibility campaign during the week of September 10-16 by using the hashtag #BecauseOfArtsEd. People from all walks of life can share their story of the transformative power of the arts in their own education and the impact the arts have had on their work and life. They can post on Facebook, send a tweet, or share a photo on Instagram. If you do this, be sure to use the hashtag #ArtsEdWeek too.

Still want to do more? Help Americans for the Arts continue its important work by becoming an official member of the Arts Action Fund. Find out more at www.americansforthearts.org or www.artsactionfund.org.