2: Learning in the Arts
To advance arts education for children and youth. Other Information:
Program Outcome Goals: • Children and youth demonstrate skills, knowledge, and/or understanding of the arts, consistent with
national, State, or local arts education standards; • Teachers, artists, and others demonstrate knowledge and skills necessary
to engage children in arts learning, consistent with national, State, or local arts education standards; • National, State,
and local entities demonstrate a commitment to arts learning for children and youth, consistent with national, State, or local
arts education standards. Rationale: The Arts Endowment maintains that all children, not only those with special artistic
talent, should be educated in the arts. The opportunity to study artistic traditions, and to create and perform in different
artistic media, is essential to the development of informed, active citizens and necessary for the maintenance of a vibrant
democratic nation. Through its support of projects, national and leadership initiatives, and partnership efforts under the
Learning in the Arts goal, the Arts Endowment plays a vital role in helping children and youth acquire knowledge, skills,
and understanding of the arts. In accordance with the “No Child Left Behind Act,” which identifies the arts as a core academic
subject and insists on standards-based curricula, the Arts Endowment has taken a leadership role in promoting the arts as
a serious discipline of study and participation. In the United States today, a large segment of the youth population has never
witnessed a live theatre performance or visited a museum. Affirming that exposure to different arts disciplines is an essential
element in education, the Arts Endowment is instituting a rigorous program that builds knowledge and skills in the arts, and
tests students to measure their proficiency. Strategies: • Implement a grants application and review process that: o supports
projects that engage youth in studying artistic traditions, developing artistic skills, and performing in artistic media;
o develops strong arts curricula and effective teaching practices; o identifies model programs that may be replicated elsewhere.
For example, the national initiative Shakespeare for a New Generation provides funding to theater companies and festivals
to conduct education outreach programs involving performances of Shakespeare for youth audiences. Similar firsthand engagement
with the arts and classroom instruction are part of the NEA Jazz Masters, American Masterpieces, and The Big Read initiatives.
• Address structural and curricular deficiencies in arts education in schools by developing and supporting complementary projects.
For example: o National Endowment for the Arts Summer Schools in the Arts for Children and Youth, a program of funding for
intense, multi-week immersions in the arts for students during the summer months. o National Endowment for the Arts Teacher
Institutes, a summer program of rigorous instruction for teachers focused on in-depth learning about artistic masterworks
and on effective assessment of arts learning. o National Endowment for the Arts School Leader Institutes, a symposium convened
in selected States in which teams of State leaders, superintendents, principals, and others develop strategic plans for increasing
and improving arts education in their schools. • Provide reliable and useful information to arts educators and arts education
organizations. The Arts Endowment commissions and/or funds studies related to the field. These include surveys of arts participation
among young adults and arts course-taking by college students, and fast-response surveys documenting the presence of arts
programs in the public schools. Performance Measures: • Total number and aggregate dollar value of grants which support arts
education programs • Number of concerts/readings/performances • Number of residencies • Number of projects devoted to professional
development of teachers and artists, and number of teachers and artists benefiting • Number of children benefiting from Learning
in the Arts-funded programs • Number of artists and teachers participating in Learning in the Arts-fundedprograms • Number
of projects that demonstrate the commitment of National, State, and local entities to arts learning for children and youth
Qualitative measure: In addition to the quantitative measures of Learning in the Arts programs, a qualitative evaluation process
is currently being explored at the Arts Endowment. Given our available resources, we are considering a process that, each
year, will gather a small sample from the programs funded and assign an independent evaluator to assess the quality and impact
of the project.
Objective(s):
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