FACTS

THE ARTS & CHILDREN: GET THE FACTS!

The arts in schools are generally limited to an average of 45 minutes of instruction per week. This time includes setup and cleanup, leaving sometimes a mere 20 minutes for children and teachers to explore the arts. Small Factory is devoted to assisting families and educators feed children the arts nourishment they need to succeed in life and learning.

Feed Your Kids the Arts

The arts are enriched with the stuff kids need to succeed. Just as kids need to have good nutrition on a daily basis, they also need to have their daily serving of the arts as well. Studies have shown that involvement in the arts helps kids increase test scores and promotes academic achievement.

Kids who are involved in the arts are:*

  • 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement
  • 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools
  • 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair
  • 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance

Young artists, as compared with their peers, are likely to**…

  • Attend music, art, and dance classes nearly three times as frequently.
  • Participate in youth groups nearly four times as frequently.
  • Read for pleasure nearly twice as often.
  • Perform community service more than four times as often.

The facts are that arts education…

  • Makes a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has proven to help level the “learning field” across socio-economic boundaries. Source: Involvement in the Arts and Success in Secondary School, James S. Catterall, The UCLA Imagination Project, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, UCLA, Americans for the Arts Monograph, January 1998
  • Has a measurable impact on youth at risk in deterring delinquent behavior and truancy problems while also increasing overall academic performance among those youth engaged in after school and summer arts programs targeted toward delinquency prevention. Source: Youth ARTS Development Project, 1996, U.S. Department of Justice, National Endowment for the Arts, and Americans for the Arts

 

* Source: “The Arts. Ask for More.”, a national arts education public awareness campaign brought to you by Americans for the Arts, The Ad Council, the NAMM Foundation, and hundreds of local, state, and national official campaign partners.

**Source: Living the Arts through Language + Learning: AReport on Community-based Youth Organizations, Shirley Brice Heath, Stanford University and Carnegie Foundation For the Advancement of Teaching, Americans for the Arts Monograph, November 1998)