Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development
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Santa Fe/El Norte in the Schools: First Draft of Plan for Arts Education in Schools OK'd
Erika Dvila, The Santa Fe New Mexican
June 4, 2002

Last week, the Santa Fe school board approved the first draft of a policy supporting arts education in the schools. The program says the district will provide art programs for children in grades kindergarten through 12, and the district recognizes the integrity of various forms of art, including dance, music, theater and visual arts.

The timing of the policy is appropriate. Just two weeks ago, the Arts Education Partnership, a Washington, D.C.-based coalition of groups that promote arts education in America's schools, released a study that says the arts provide important links for students to develop critical-thinking skills and motivation to achieve at higher academic levels.

The report, Critical Link: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development, found that: Music instruction develops spatial-reasoning skills, which educators believe are crucial in helping a person understand mathematical ideas and concepts.

Certain forms of art enhance and complement basic reading skills in children. Students who participate in particular art activities show growth in self-confidence, self-identity, conflict resolution and social tolerance.

Researchers looked at 62 cases involving art forms, including most of those recognized by the Santa Fe school district. The U.S. Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Arts, among others, administer the Arts Education Partnership.

To view the study online, go to www.aep-arts.org.

(Copyright 2002 Santa Fe New Mexican 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)