Stand with ARTS Obispo and support arts education for all students
Although National Arts in Education Week has just ended, we would like to encourage all supporters of the arts, culture and education to join with arts educators — as well as with our elected officials, education leaders and local arts groups, such as our wonderful San Luis Obispo County arts organization, ARTS Obispo — to celebrate the transformative power of the arts in education.
What we know is simple: Students attend school more often when they have access to the arts; parents and families engage with schools when schools embrace the arts; dropout rates decrease; and grades increase.
Recent polling and research show that although 9 out of 10 Americans believe that the arts are essential to a student’s well-rounded education, 67 percent of Americans believe that there is an opportunity gap in arts education, falling mainly along racial and socio-economic lines, resulting in fewer students being able to reap the benefits that exposure to the arts can bring.
We must stand together to fight for equity in access and delivery of arts education to the young people in our community, our state and the nation.
It’s up to us — arts educators and arts supporters — to take a stand and lead.
Mari O’Brien, San Luis Obispo
This story was originally published September 28, 2016 at 8:51 PM with the headline "Stand with ARTS Obispo and support arts education for all students."