Bob Morrison and host of other movers and shakers in New Jersey arts, arts education, education, and politics unveiled the results of the New Jersey Arts Education Census Project today in a graceful and eloquent press conference televised from the New Jersey Network studios in Trenton, NJ.
In a brilliant stroke, the new New Jersey Arts Education Partnership a coalition of supportive leaders and organizations speaking with one voice for arts education made the recommendations from the Project its strategic plan. Is there a better way to make an impact from the data than to make it someone’s to-do list? The Partnership is currently hosting committees addressing each major area of the report: students, teachers, policies, resources, and community.
The most potent piece of the data is the mapping: an actual picture of each school district colored according to their Arts Education Index a number like a grade, based upon flexible, comprehensive criteria for high-quality and fully accessible arts education.
The event today featured such leaders as New Jersey Secretary of State Nina Mitchell and Education Commissioner Lucille Davy. Both women spoke eloquently, earnestly, and knowledgeably about arts education its impact, importance, and history in New Jersey as well as about the Project’s nationally unprecedented scale, scope, and accuracy. The Census Project itself is a partnership between the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the New Jersey State Department of Education, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey all of whom supported the capable project leadership of Morrison, founder of Music for All. Each of these organizations spoke at the event.
The importance of the Census Project is tri-fold:
- “Status and condition” data gathering (how much arts ed?) is one of the four recommended changes to NCLB put forth by the national arts and arts education community. This report sets a new bar for quality and depth of status and condition reporting. It gives truth and muscle to the recommendation, which is, in my opinion, the most important change we could see in NCLB for the arts and the other second-tier core curricula.
- The consensus that was built among arts, arts education, education, government, and funders in order to pull off this project is the most impressive aspect. As others today emphasized repeatedly, economic status of the district is not a factor in arts education success; the key factor is the will of the leadership. Consensus is how will is born and cultivated in our leaders. This consensus will carry the subsequent work of the New Jersey Arts Education Partnership many miles. And again, it sets the bar high for all of us, demonstrating what is possible when we build consensus in our communities.
- This data is so good and so accurate, and the methodology so deep and broad, that the host of thoughtful recommendations included in the report could be considered among the most educated statements that has been made in our field. This is meant simply to say, this report is very, very good at what it does.
The panelists pointed out a fact, as relayed to them by Sir Ken Robinson, “Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” I have a big thanks for Bob, every person on that stage today, each partner, and every principal, superintendent, teacher and student who offered their time and honesty to the report. It’s truly a banner day for arts education.
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