Not convinced that arts education is the way to go?

While we find intrinsic value in art for art's sake, we're even more passionate about the positive impact arts education has on young people's personal and academic development.



Please refer to any of the following studies:

  • A 2006 book, Studio Thinking, found: "Students in art classes learn a remarkable array of mental habits not emphasized elsewhere in school. Skills include persistence, expression, making clear connections between schoolwork and the outside world, observing, envisioning, and innovating through exploration. Each of these skills has a high value as a learning tool, both in school and elsewhere in life." 
  •  The collection of research described in Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development (2002) finds that learning in the arts may be uniquely able to boost learning and achievement for young children, students from economically disadvantaged circumstances, and students needing remedial instruction.
  • According to Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning (1999), a compilation of studies on the impact of arts on learning, students who participate in the arts outperform their peers on virtually every measure. Researchers found that "sustained learning" in music and theater correlates to greater success in math and reading, and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds see the greatest benefits.
  • Multiple studies have found that early childhood arts education improves vocabulary, communication, and memory in three- to five-year old underprivileged children.
  • IBM's 2010 Global CEO Study found that a majority of CEO's selected creativity as the most crucial factor for an employee and an organization's future success.
  • A 2009 study by James Catterall found that students reap the benefits of arts education throughout their lifetime. Catterall found that low-income students who participated in arts education were more likely to attend college, get a job, and volunteer than their peers who did not participate in arts education.