Arts education in the spotlight

Arts education -- long on the decline nationwide -- continues to find its way back into Philadelphia's public schools. Recent staffing changes have generated a number of news stories. On Aug. 13, a coalition sent the following letter to the School Reform Commission:

Good afternoon.

We are writing to once again commend you for your actions in halting the declining presence of the arts in public education. We are a group of organizations and individuals who recognize the important role of the arts in improving the lives of children in the region. We first came together earlier this year at a large public meeting sponsored by the William Penn Foundation at the Constitution Center. In building this Arts for Children and Youth Initiative, we hope to work with you to advance arts in the lives of the city's children through a broad multi-year, multi-level public /private campaign.

We were very pleased this spring to learn of the District's plans to increase the number of teachers of the arts in the schools this year so that all schools will be able to provide some arts exposure and opportunity to students. We are concerned, however, that the District maintain the necessary administrative capacity to realize the potential of this major step forward.

We applaud your commitment and that of Dr. Ackerman to put as many resources as possible in the classroom but we also recognize the need for an adequate infrastructure to secure real progress.
Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely yours,

Shelly Yanoff, Executive Director, Public Citizens for Children and Youth
Gretchen Elise Iversen, PCCY, Picasso Project Coordinator
Emily Byrne, OMG Center for Collaborative Learning
Meg Long, OMG Center for Collaborative Learning
Kevin Dow, President, Philadelphia Cultural Fund
Susan A. Segal, Program Officer, Lincoln Financial Foundation
Rob Davidson, Program Manager, VH1 Save the Music Foundation
Allan L. Edmunds, Executive Director, Brandywine Workshop
Jan Norman Ph.D. , National Director of Education, Research and Professional Development Young Audiences, Inc.
Evelyn Eskin, Picasso Project Advisory Committee Chair
Germaine Ingram
Peggy Amsterdam, President, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
Denise Kinney, Executive Director, MUSICOPIA
Hazami Sayed, President, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture
James Undercofler,President and CEO,The Philadelphia Orchestra Association
Glen Knapp, Executive Producing Director,Philadelphia Young Playwrights
Mark Huxsoll, Director, Temple University Music Preparatory Division
Lucy Tobin, Director of Education, The Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival
Jane Golden, Mural Arts Program
Erin Elman, Dean of Continuing Studies, The University of the Arts
Amy Sarner Williams, Executive Director, The Clay Studio, provider of the "Claymobile" outreach program
Thora Jacobson, Chief Operating Officer, Philagrafika
Barbara Bassett, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Maureen Sweeney, Director of Education,Philadelphia Theatre Company
Tracy Broyles, Executive Director, Spiral Q Puppet Theater

Cc: Dr. Arlene Ackerman, Superintendent of Schools

Teacher blog: 'What's a Community to Do?'

PCCY's School Stories is not the only blog browsed by members of the local education community. One of our readers wanted to bring attention to this posting from TeachersCount blog -- certainly food for thought:

What’s a Community to Do?
As August nears its midpoint and teachers, parents, and students all begin to think about school, we must ask ourselves, how will it be different, how will it be better?
Sadly I can think of nothing our community has done to improve our schools. Two years ago 74% of first graders at my school were significantly below reading grade level when they entered school. Last year it was 88%. No where has this problem been addressed, but the public clamors for teacher accountability. Doesn’t parental accountability come first? If a child is arriving at school behind what exactly is the teacher’s responsibility?
(click here to read entire post)

In addition, our friends at Philadelphia Public School Notebook plan to join the blogging community this fall with its own blog, for which planning will begin this month. We wish them much success!