Terry Liu

NEA Supports Creative Youth Development

Posted by Terry Liu, Sep 19, 2014 1 comment


Terry Liu

Terry Liu Terry Liu

As an Arts Education Specialist at the National Endowment for the Arts, I am fortunate to see new blooms in the field of education.  Earlier this year, I was honored to join more than 200 national, state, local, and community-based youth arts leaders for the National Summit on Creative Youth Development in Boston, sponsored by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the National Guild for Community Arts Education.

It’s exciting to have a quorum of leaders who are committed to taking creative youth development to the next level.  We came with decades of experience in this field, and we left with a clear policy and advocacy agenda that our respective organizations could implement at the local, state, and national levels.

What exactly is creative youth development?  First off, it’s out-of-school and community-based education programs; after-school, weekend, and evening programs when students are not in school. And, we’re not just talking about arts programs, we’re talking about community-based arts, humanities, and science education opportunities.  What do youth get out of these out-of-school learning experiences?  They get a nurturing, inclusive environment, they get to learn at their own pace, learn from each other’s differences, and learn life skills for future success.  The term creative youth development is informed by the idea that these programs look at the whole person, empowered to be an active agent in their learning, and connected to their community.

The National Endowment for the Arts is supporting creative youth development at the national, state, and local level.  For example, we support the YouthReach, an award-winning program at the Massachusetts Cultural Council.  YouthReach supports model afterschool and out-of-school programs  from Gloucester to Springfield to empower young people facing challenges of disability, violence, or poverty.  It’s a collaborative program, which involves cultural organizations, human service agencies and other organizations.  In his blog, Seen and Heard, Deacon H. Mark Smith, former YouthReach program manager, talked about how YouthReach typifies the approach of creative youth development programs:

 Instead of seeing troubled youths as “problems in need of fixing” or “recipients of services,” successful youth development programs see young people as “partners in learning” and “resources in the community.” By identifying and building upon pre-existing strengths, these programs extend their vision to the full, healthy development of all youth.

NEA direct grants for arts education also support similar outcomes.  NEA arts education grants are based on the idea that every student should have the opportunity to participate in the arts, both in and out of school.  NEA grants support projects for pre-K-12 students, the educators and civic leaders who support them, and the schools and communities that serve them.  These grants can take the form of direct learning or professional development projects that take place in schools, and are enhanced by community arts organizations, teaching artists, and local and state arts councils.  The NEA is proud to support projects to organizations like the Texas-based organization, Big Thought.   NEA support for their "Thriving Minds" and "Dallas Arts Partners" programs has enabled collaborations among the City of Dallas, the Dallas Independent School District, and many other arts, cultural, and community organizations. Together, these organizations make creative learning a part of every child's day in Dallas.

While creative youth development focuses on out-of-school education, this movement has had a positive impact on in-school education as well.  There are many examples of communities whose decades of collective impact around creative youth development have lead to the formation of schools. El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice (founded in 1992 in Brooklyn) and Dreamyard Preparatory High School (founded in 2006 in the Bronx) are two examples of arts-focused schools that were formed by community organizations.

Read today's insert in USA Today with articles by Americans for the Arts CEO & President, Robert Lynch, and the NEA Chair, Jane Chu on arts education and creative careers.

Join @Americans4Arts for an #ArtsEdChat today on the topic of creative youth development at 2:00 p.m. EST! 

1 responses for NEA Supports Creative Youth Development

Comments

Wendy Sherry says
January 23, 2015 at 12:27 pm

I am an art educator who lives in Western Mass where opportunities for teachers are slim and competitive. I have been involved in many after school and enrichments programs and see the benefits of inspiring kids in hat environment. Our educational system needs innovative, creative ideas. I have a brainstorm about creating an Art bus that could travel from district to district...or throughout the country delivering Arts programs to schools. I need support for my vision and would live some feedback!

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