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For many years, I secretly worked on my research. I say “secretly” because, once upon a time, researchers simply published their research in professional journals—and there it stayed. However, my colleagues and I learned things we thought people needed to know. We found that students’ mindsets—how they perceive their abilities—played a key role in their motivation and achievement, and we found that if we changed students’ mindsets, we could boost their achievement.

At a time when schools across the country are cutting arts education, this city is aiming to make it universal. Myran Parker-Brass, a classically trained mezzo-soprano who sang for the Boston Symphony, is working to provide weekly arts education to all middle and elementary Boston public school students. And she’s not stopping there. Special correspondent Lisa Stark of Education Week reports.

At the end of the tour, the Department released non-regulatory guidance, “Using Evidence to Strengthen Education Investments,” to help stakeholders make more effective education investments by leveraging relevant, rigorous evidence to improve outcomes for students under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).  The first part of the document describes steps for using evidence as part of a larger decision-making process, which also includes identifying local needs, engaging stakeholders, and continuous improvement.  The second part of the document provides clear guidance on the definition of “evidence-based” in ESSA, including recommendations on how to identify the level of evidence for various interventions. 

This event is being presented in celebration of the third annual YOUNGARTS AWARENESS DAY: September 27, 2016 | 6PM | Millennium Stage, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. | FREE and open to the public  

Earlier this week, four female museum directors gazed up at an image of a woman sporting the all-caps slogan “The Future is Female.” They were gathered to discuss the dearth of women in art-world leadership roles—and what it takes to get there. “I hope that the future is female—at least balanced female, male, and they,” mused Anne Pasternak, who recently became the first female director of the Brooklyn Museum. “But we have a long way to go, very clearly.”

The creative class has, for better or worse, primarily been associated with big American cities along the coasts: out of Richard Florida‘s top 20 creative-class cities in 2015, only one — Dublin, Ohio—was located in a non-coastal state. But new data recently released by the National Endowment for the Arts suggests that there's an awful lot of creativity happening far inland from America’s coastal tech and arts hubs.

The Arts Education Partnership, a center at Education Commission of the States, serves as the nation‘s hub for individuals and organizations committed to making high-quality arts education accessible to all U.S. students. AEP gathers and analyzes research and education policy information, fosters dialogue about what works in arts education, and supports advocacy for improved education policy and practice in America’s schools.

Advancing the Arts to Support National Policy Priorities

If all goes well, about this time next year the new ESSA roll out in your state will be beginning. It will reflect your local input to your state’s plan and process. Your staff will be on board as they are fully aware of the new approach and have been given ample time to prepare for implementation. And your students and their families know just what to expect and what is expected of them.