STUDENTS FALLING BEHIND IN ARTS EDUCATION

to the editor: i am a public school parent with a ten-year-old daughter at p.s. 334 in district 3, but i live in district 2, and i am very worried about how budget cuts will affect the quality of education my child is getting. i want her and every child in nyc to benefit from every single drop of learning he/she is entitled to, and that includes arts education. there is a law in new york state that requires our kids to receive arts training as part of the education they deserve. yet less than one third of nyc public schools have one single arts teacher on staff. less than half of middle schools are ensuring that all students are getting access to the arts education that the law requires. and only 8 percent of elementary schools are in position to meet state requirements. kids in schools that have access to the arts are more likely to go to school, less likely to drop out and more likely to graduate on time. for my child, arts education has provided another means to know and think about herself and communicate ideas visually. my daughter is one of the fortunate 8 percent of nyc public school students. at her school there is one full-time art teacher for grades k-2, two part-time art teachers for grades 3-8. they also employ two full-time music teachers for k-8. the arts education at her school makes a significant positive impact on my daughter's life. i want this arts education for all nyc students. i'm part of a parent coalition working with the center for arts education. we want everyone to know our kids are being denied the education they are entitled to under the law. we're organizing visits to the officials we elected, and calling on the city council for a minimum level of funding for arts education. now is the time to invest in our children!

sincerely,

deborah schreier grinberg chelsea