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"The arts help us learn to be more than consumers," Lakeisha Steele tells Truthout.
"They teach problem-solving skills, train children to work together and develop empathy for others."
Steele is the vice president of policy at the 30-year-old Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, and she credits the American Rescue Plan that passed in 2021 with putting needed cash into public education, which enabled the temporary expansion of arts programming.
As of 2020, just 19 states included the arts as a key education area.
Prior to the rescue plan, "we were at a fairly productive point of the pendulum swing, with the end of No Child Left Behind in 2015 and a more holistic understanding of young people's lives," says Erica Rosenfeld Halverson, a professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
But after the rescue plan passed, "the focus has been on a return to basicsreading, writing, arithmetic, and sanitized accounts of American historya focus that ignores the role that arts education can play in helping kids plug into academics and social and emotional well-being," Steele says.
According to Halverson, funding for all types of public school arts education typically fluctuates from year to year, with massive cuts implemented during
Selected Grant News Headlines
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
The 2025 Great Labor Arts Exchange is set for June 20 22 at the Silver Spring Civic Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.The program features powerful plenaries, including a look at the West Virginia...more
Penn, Neubauer Family Foundation, and Philadelphia Police Department partner to support police leadership education.First-of-its-kind collaboration will cover tuition costs for senior PPD personnel...more
Present Music presents several contemporary takes on Baroque innovation and instrumentation.The harpsichord's journey forms a through line for the concert.The cancellation forced Present Music to...more
Rikki Amani will begin doctoral studies in Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies at UC Berkeley this fall.Amani: "I will research the objects of my inheritance through the lense of Performance...more
The Creative Impact Fund is one of the largest unrestricted grant funds available to Cuyahoga County artists.The program is designed to promote the growth of an artist's creative practice and advance...more
The I Madonnari Street Painting Festival is a beloved tradition in Santa Barbara.The festival will take place at the Old Mission Santa Barbara Saturday-Monday, May 24-26, from 10 a.m.to noon.Proceeds...more
Foundation: Maine Community Foundation
The initiative aims to fill a gap identified by a 2023 needs assessment completed by the foundation.The foundation aims to strengthen Maine communities by ensuring strong, local news coverage in all...more
Alexandria Symphony Orchestra Looks Ahead to 2025-2026 Season.Tickets are on sale now for the new season that begins in September.It will be Music DirectorA James Ross' final season with the...more
Spelman College Glee Club to perform at Return to Community: A Sunday Gospel Jazz Service June 29.The 2025 Syracuse International Jazz Fest finale at Hendricks Chapel will once again offer a dynamic...more
Rowan University's new Ph.D.in creativity program began May 9.The program pairs students with leaders in their field of study for a high intensity, low-residency experience.The required dissertation...more
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