In Philadelphia, “children have uneven opportunities to participate in arts and music programs—some schools are rich with them, and others have none,” writes Kristen A. Graham in Tuesday’s (10/17) Philadelphia Inquirer. “The Philadelphia School District, the Neubauer Family Foundation, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education are releasing an exhaustive analysis of city schools’ arts programs Tuesday that shows where they are and how they operate…. The goal is to get instrumental music into every elementary school and to make traditional … elective opportunities available at the secondary level. This year, schools will assess their needs and develop plans for what they’d like over the next five years.… Many city schools that lack such programs are concentrated in high-poverty areas that serve large numbers of minority students.… Frank Machos, executive director of the district’s Office of Arts & Academic Enrichment] said the process was driven by a mandate from Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. and his team to get more arts into schools. ‘Little kids are intrinsically artistic,’ Machos said. ‘It’s our job to embrace that and bring it out. We have an opportunity to be a global leader in arts education.’ ”
Posted October 23, 2017
