LIVING PROOF The Decline in Northeast Arts Education...and what can be done about it

Education Budgeting has always been far less than other expenditures Projected budgeting shows decrease in Fed. Education Monies over Next 5 years

Education Budget has never been more than 2.95% of total Low Federal funding leaves State & Local school districts to obtain their own funds

Some states better able to procure funding than others Federal Monies must be diverted to weaker states, leaving less for others Generally, New England states receive less federal money

Northeast generally above total national average ($9000/Student in 2005)

New England States among highest Cost of Living nationwide Rhode Island and New Jersey leading the way

7% Federal Contribution has been normal for past decades (1992) In 2000 Fed. Monies accounted for $30 Billion of $401 Billion Total In the first school year of NCLB, Fed. Funding raised to 8.5% State and Local sources raised $31 Billion more than in 2000 No Child Left Behind Signed 1/8/02

“Despite there being 10 core subjects, NCLB currently requires schools to report student achievement test results for only reading and mathematics. The law requires that all students in the country meet state-determined standards in core subjects by the year Because of the amount of change schools must see in student achievement, there are many reports of decreasing instruction time for other subjects, such as the arts. The Center on Education Policy has recently completed a report entitled From the Capital to the Classroom: Year Four of the No Child Left Behind Act. The report finds a majority of school leaders report gains in achievement, but 71 percent reported having reduced instructional time in at least one other subject to make more time for reading and mathematics. Elementary school leaders report a 22 percent decline in art and music instruction because of No Child Left Behind.” - Americans for the Arts, National Nonprofit Organization “The arts are essential parts of the human experience, they are not a frill. We recommend that all students study the arts to discover how human beings communicate not only with words, but through music, dance, and the visual arts. During our visits (to schools) we found the arts to be shamefully neglected. Courses in the arts were the last to come and the first to go.” -Dr. Ernest Boyer The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Data from The Nation's Report Card, for 2005 High School Graduates: Trend shows that education (by GPA) was increasing well before NCLB

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