Advancing Arts Education through an Expanded School Day: Lessons from Five Schools

National Center on Time & Learning. 24 School Street 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02108. Tel: 617-378-3940; Fax: 617-723-6746; Web site: http://www.timeandlearning.org

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Art Education; Extended School Day; Case Studies; Charter Schools; Middle Schools; High Schools; Elementary Schools

California; Colorado; Massachusetts; Rhode Island

In schools across the country, educators recognize the power of the arts to change young lives. They know that students' sustained engagement with enriching, high-quality experiences in the arts promotes essential skills and perspectives--like the capacity to solve problems, express ideas, harness and hone creativity, and persevere toward a job well done. And yet today, educators at many schools that operate with conventional schedules are forced to choose between offering their students valuable opportunities to pursue the arts and focusing on other rigorous core classes that also are necessary for success in the 21st century. This report presents case studies of five schools utilizing the longer student and teacher days to prioritize time for arts education as they work to improve overall academic instruction and focus on individual student achievement. The five schools are: (1) Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter Public School (BART); (2) Clarence Edwards Middle School; (3) Metropolitan Arts and Technology Charter High School (Metro); (4) Cole Arts and Sciences Academy (CASA); and (5) Roger Williams Middle School.

ERIC

2015

ED559943