Focus on Arts and Schools
Summer 2006 Vol. 13 No. 4
Tenth grader John Vizzachero performs with the saxophone quartet from the High School for Creative and Performing Arts at the May opening of the District's annual student art show.
Full-time art, music teachers: a dwindling breed?
by Dale Mezzacappa
Once, the Philadelphia School District was a flagship for instruction in the arts, with certified music and art teachers in virtually every school. Today, it is struggling to rebuild that reputation as it faces tighter revenues, a shortage of qualified teachers, and pressure to spend more time on reading and math.
Today, less than a third of the city's public schools have both art and music teachers. The majority of the rest have one or the other, but 66 schools have neither, according to a Notebook analysis of teacher staffing patterns.
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Teaching the arts in Philadelphia: five schools, five stories
Interviews by Clarisse Mesa and Benjamin Herold
Philadelphia’s 268 schools include selective high schools requiring auditions that regularly turn out professional artists and also schools without even a part-time art or music teacher – with no formal course offerings in the arts. No matter where a school falls on that spectrum, there are likely to be teachers committed to offering quality arts instruction and arts experiences to their students.
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NCLB: taking a toll on arts and music education
by Ron Whitehorne
As school districts across the nation respond to the challenges of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, children are spending more classroom time on reading and math and as a result some are spending less time on music and art.
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Table of Contents
Theme articles
- Full-time art, music teachers: a dwindling breed? by Dale Mezzacappa
- 133 schools lack music teacher, 121 lack art teacher
- Teaching the arts in Philadelphia: five schools, five stories Interviews by Clarisse Mesa and Benjamin Herold
- New high school arts programs launched by Dale Mezzacappa
- Grads talk about the influence of their school years
- Principals who strive to keep arts education at the center by Beandrea Davis
- School invests $2 million in new arts facilities
- Funding seen as key to restoring arts programs in schools by Paul Socolar
- Local artists say power of arts education could benefit whole city by Paul Socolar
- Participants describe 'formative experiences'
- NCLB: taking a toll on arts and music education by Ron Whitehorne
- Two hip-hop enthusiasts connect rapping and reading by Yulanda Essoka
- Art lessons from NYC: use city's rich resources to restore arts education by Jolley Bruce Christman
- Opinion: Understanding the collisions between the arts and literacy by Deborah Brandt
- Opinion: Imagining equity in arts education by Debora Kodish and Deborah Wei
Other news & features
- District progress was fueled by funding increases by Paul Socolar
- Groups determined to see high school plans implemented by Paul Socolar
Notebook news
- In memoriam
Cartoon
- Summer 2006 Cartoon by Eric Joselyn
In our opinion
- Aren’t the arts essential?
From our readers
- New admissions policy threatens equal enrollment opportunities
- Concerns over dumped milk and juice
Eye on special education
- State requires schools to look more closely at ‘least restrictive environment’ by Barbara Ransom
Activism around the city
- Adequate public schools: how much do they cost?
- Youth United for Change presents plan for Olney
- Fighting deportations of immigrant parents
School snapshot
- School Snapshot
News in brief
- Hayre Institute will aid in teacher diversity campaign
- Former board president Rotan E. Lee dies
- Contract with K12 for science curriculum lapses
En español
- Maestros de arte y música a tiempo completo: cada vez hay menos por Dale Mezzacappa
- Expertos locales dicen que la educación en arte tiene el poder de beneficiar a toda la ciudad por Paul Socolar
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