The Arts Alive survey is a baseline study of the state of the arts in Michigan. There is a wide range on arts activities taking place in school and with community partners, and districts, administrators, and teachers are resourceful in pursuing support for arts education. There is room to adopt policies on all aspects of arts education in many more districts, and there is a need to increase certification of arts specialists in Music and Visual Arts.  There is very little opportunity for students to learn about the disciplines of Dance and Theatre/Drama, as only a very small number of Dance and Drama/Theatre teachers exist in Michigan districts/schools. In the case of Dance teachers, there are so few (146 total) that the number is insignificant—over 95% of all schools responding said they had no dance teacher at all. There is also a great disparity between public school districts, public school academies, and private schools for visual arts teachers. The three most critical needs in their districts or schools were adequate facilities (52%), materials and supplies (43%), and sufficient scheduling time (38%). The survey shows a strong positive trend among schools to hold the line or increase arts education offerings in the next 1-3 years and figures show respondents have a strong commitment to the value of arts education in schools. Only 3% of respondents expect to decrease arts education offerings.

The Arts Alive survey is a baseline study of the state of the arts in Michigan.