02/15/2012

Boston Schools Get $4M for Arts Education

"The Boston public schools have received a $4 million grant to maintain and expand arts education for students across the city.

Superintendent Carol R. Johnson said the grant, from the Wallace Foundation in New York, will greatly enhance an initiative launched three years ago by the school district, the city, and outside partners to provide more instruction in the visual and performing arts...

The grant is being awarded as the school district says it has made progress in bolstering instruction, curriculum, professional development, and family engagement in the arts.

A study in 2009 said that the availability of arts instruction varied greatly from school to school, with opportunities dwindling as students moved to higher grades. Since the district launched the initiative, the number of students receiving arts education has risen by 14,000.

About 90 percent of elementary and middle school students now receive weekly arts education, up from 67 percent three years ago. And the number of high school students exposed to arts education has doubled in the same period, the officials said."

The Boston Globe 02/08/2012