Arts Council
Kentucky Arts Council Releases Study on Arts Education in Public Schools

FRANKFORT, Ky. – In a first time attempt to gauge the status of arts education in Kentucky public schools the Kentucky Arts Council has contracted with the Collaborative for Teaching and Learning to conduct a statewide survey of school districts to establish a baseline view of the arts in education in the Commonwealth’s 176 county and independent school districts.  The study, Status of Arts Education in Kentucky Public Schools, will assist state and local arts and education partners in evaluating, planning and appropriately advocating for quality arts programming and instruction to provide a comprehensive education for all Kentucky students from pre-school through grade 12.

The information in the report is derived from a comprehensive set of questions addressing a wide range of school arts services and programs in areas of curriculum and instruction; funding; staffing; teacher, parent and community involvement; use of out of school resources; facilities and technology. The full report Status of Arts Education in Kentucky Public Schools is available online at http://artscouncil.ky.gov/ArtsEducSurvey05.pdf .

Supporting partners for the survey project include the Kentucky Department of Education, Kentucky Educational Television, Kentucky Alliance for Arts Education and the Kentucky Center. For information about study design and findings, contact Dennis Horn, Vice President, Resource Development and Communications, Collaborative for Teaching and Learning at (502) 895-9500 ext. 329.

Education leaders from across the Commonwealth have been invited to participate in a forum on Friday December 9, 2005 in the Brown Forman Room of the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in Frankfort.  The forum will share current research in the Status of Arts Education in Kentucky Public Schools and the role of the arts, artists and arts organizations in achieving the five Kentucky Board of Education initiatives that center on leadership, literacy, closing the achievement gap, refocusing secondary schools and early childhood.

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The Kentucky Arts Council is a state agency in the Commerce Cabinet that invests in programs that develop vibrant communities, provide lifelong education in the arts and support arts participation.  Every $1 in grant funds awarded by the Kentucky Arts Council helps grantees secure $15 in earned income and matching funds from individuals, philanthropic sources and other levels of government. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

The Collaborative for Teaching and Learning is a non-profit, national consulting organization based in Louisville Kentucky. The Collaborative was founded in 1994 with a mission to help schools become places where all children learn, and with a clear focus on the teacher as the critical factor in student success.