We’re here because we know …
- Arts education levels the “learning field” across socio-economic boundaries, improves student retention and reduces the achievement gap
- Professional development of teachers is an essential component of student academic achievement
- Teachers who receive training and support, including instruction in the arts, are more likely to remain in their profession
- Most students in California do not receive instruction in the arts even at the level required by state law
- 29% of California’s public schools offer no study in any arts discipline
- Students who attend schools with high levels of poverty have the least access to arts instruction
- Children with limited English-language proficiency are at especially high risk of academic failure
- Only 48% of African-American and Latino students who start 9th grade graduate four years later
- Students in the Los Angeles Unified School District are among the nation’s most at-risk to drop out of school
Although the full impact of bringing the arts to children’s lives is beyond measure, the programs offered at Inner-City Arts support creative and intellectual development in ways that can be quantified.
A recent evaluation of Inner-City Arts programs by the US Department of Education proved conclusively that children who attend classes at Inner-City Arts, and whose teachers actively participate in Inner-City Arts programs, score dramatically better in math, creativity and language arts on statewide standardized tests: