A program that uses arts education to help turn around failing schools is expanding for the second time.
The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities announced last week that its Turnaround Arts initiative has added five districts: Bridgeport, Conn.; Broward County, Fla.; Hawaii’s statewide system; New York City; and the District of Columbia. All the districts also have local partners.
The initiative now reaches more than 22,000 students in 49 schools across 14 states and the District of Columbia. It targets “turnaround schools"—those selected by the U.S. Department of Education for extra resources from federal agencies and private foundations because they are in the bottom 5 percent of their states’ schools in student achievement.