Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

Don’t Forget About Teaching Artists

November 01, 2017 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

We applaud Education Week‘s recent special section “Arts Education: A Look Ahead”, which raises important questions about an often-undervalued component of K-12 education. What’s absent from the five otherwise informative essays is reference to the instruction, programs, performances, and exhibitions provided to schools by cultural organizations and teaching artists in communities throughout the country. This vital component of a robust arts education is formally endorsed and supported by many school districts, including those in Chicago, Dallas, and New York City. Increasingly, services from artists and cultural groups enter schools as part of a thoughtful collaboration between school administrators, licensed classroom teachers, and outside providers.

In New York City, to help ensure the quality of these services, the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable (for which we are co-chairs) provides ongoing professional development to hundreds of organizational and individual members who collectively serve hundreds of thousands of students through in-school and out-of-school programs. Our members’ services run the gamut from skills-based instruction and aesthetic education to arts integration. Many members work with special-needs populations, including English-language learners, court-involved youths, and students with disabilities. The growing work of outside arts groups nationwide is something Education Week should consider paying attention to in the future.

Sobha Kavanakudiyil & Theodore Wiprud

Co-Chairs

New York City Arts in Education Roundtable

New York, N.Y.

A version of this article appeared in the November 01, 2017 edition of Education Week as Don’t Forget About Teaching Artists

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
How to Leverage Virtual Learning: Preparing Students for the Future
Hear from an expert panel how best to leverage virtual learning in your district to achieve your goals.
Content provided by Class
English-Language Learners Webinar AI and English Learners: What Teachers Need to Know
Explore the role of AI in multilingual education and its potential limitations.
Education Webinar The K-12 Leader: Data and Insights Every Marketer Needs to Know
Which topics are capturing the attention of district and school leaders? Discover how to align your content with the topics your target audience cares about most. 

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education From Our Research Center What's on the Minds of Educators, in Charts
Politics, gender equity, and technology—how teachers and administrators say these issues are affecting the field.
1 min read
Stylized illustration of a pie chart
Traci Daberko for Education Week
Education Briefly Stated: August 30, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: August 23, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: August 16, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read