General News
Most schools not getting mandated art instruction
Mar 13, 2008 2:22 PM
Just 4 percent of New York City’s public schools are getting the arts education required by the state, according to the Department of Education’s Annual Arts in the Schools Report.
At a press conference held at Fort Hamilton HS in Brooklyn on March 6, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the city was making progress, stressing that 98 percent of elementary schools have at least some instruction in either the performing or visual arts.
But according to the report, most students receive far less than the state requires, despite the city’s hiring 9 percent more licensed art teachers in its schools between 2005 and 2007.
Most of the affected students are in elementary schools. In the city’s middle schools, 29 percent of 7th- and 8th-graders have received state-mandated levels of arts education.
“What these numbers say is that our students are not getting the well-rounded education that they should be getting and to which they have a right,” said UFT President Randi Weingarten. “Arts education is one of the most important and vibrant aspects of educating the whole child.”
Richard Farkas, UFT vice president of middle schools, said that, “this is an issue we have repeatedly addressed, testifying both at the City Council and at the New York State Regents. We addressed it as far back as five years ago, when Chancellor [Joel] Klein was appointed and the DOE mandate for double-period math and literacy was cutting into the arts, and we addressed it as recently as May 2007, when the UFT testified before the middle school task force commissioned by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.”
Bloomberg announced that principals were spending more money on art programs than they had previously, citing a 3 percent increase in arts spending this school year. In July he said that the DOE would hold principals responsible for providing quality arts programs and that each school would receive a report card grade for the arts, posted on its Web site.
“In our City of New York, the arts capital of the world, the majority of our elementary and middle school students do not appear to meet what are the most minimal state requirements,” said Richard Kessler, the executive director of the Center for Arts Education, a member of the Keep the Promises coalition.
At the recent press conference, Bloomberg announced that despite the latest budget cuts, he expected principals would spend money on the arts.
Weingarten said that she hoped the city would stand by its commitment to the state and meet the requirements for a strong education in the arts.
“It’s sad, and ironic, that this crucial aspect of a child’s education is getting short shrift in the world capital of arts and culture,” Weingarten said.
