Advocacy: Using quotes and research to advocate for your programs

Michael Gielniak

Music programs are faced again with cutbacks as states across the country grapple with huge budget deficits. These reductions have already been felt in many Michigan districts. Utica Community Schools, the second largest school district in the state, has eliminated their Fine Arts Coordinator position and most of the Intermediate Schools Districts laid off their Fine Arts Consultants this year. Many arts teachers returned to school in September faced with larger class loads and more buildings to cover. Some districts have even begun to cut programs. The Lake Shore School District in Montcalm County, for example, has eliminated all of their fine arts programs. Although the state budget outlook for next year is even grimmer, it is possible to influence the priority the arts receive in your own district through consistent and continuous advocacy. This article is intended to help you develop an advocacy plan, as well as give you quotes that you can cut and paste into advocacy materials.

1: Inform Yourself

Before you can be an effective advocate, it is essential that you become knowledgeable about the most current educational issues and the current political views toward music education. The state and federal government now consider the fine arts as a core academic subject, along with math, science, reading, and social studies. This new level of importance for the arts can be seen in Education, Yes!, the new Michigan legislation, as well as in the new Bush education plan, No Child Left Behind.

Education, Yes! is the new accountability system for Michigan schools. Each school will continue to be accountable for their MEAP scores, but now schools must report annually on the qualifications of their teachers, the quality of their staff development, the appropriateness of their facilities, and the quality and continuity of their fine arts programs. Tom Watkins, the state superintendent, reported last February that

A highlight of the changes recommended in Education, Yes! is the new indicator for arts education to emphasize the connection of arts to thinking skills and to focus on arts opportunities for all students

Likewise, the federal government states similar language in the new Bush legislation, No Child Left Behind. Under Title V, Subpart 15 it states:
The purposes of this subpart are the following:

To support systemic education reform by strengthening arts education as an integral part of the elementary school and secondary school curriculum
To help ensure that all students meet challenging State academic content standards and challenging state student academic achievement standard in the arts.

With this new focus on the quality of arts education for all students, it is imperative that schools develop fine arts curricula based on the state standards and benchmarks. These standards and benchmarks, as stated in the Michigan Curriculum Framework (MCF), lay the foundation for all fine arts instruction in every public elementary, middle and high school in the state. Aligning your district curriculum lends credibility to your programs and helps to ensure their rightful place within the school day.

Another issue facing schools is the fact that only 10-20% of secondary students participate in fine arts programs. Superintendent Watkins makes it clear that the state expects all students to be provided with an education in the arts. He writes:

Accordingly, our system of public education will provide all students the following:

A broad cultural exposure, including comprehension of the humanities, visual and performing arts and the classics

Step 2: Inform Constituent Groups

Parents & Community

I can’t count how many times I have heard teachers complain that parents rule the school. It is a fact that parents play a large role in the decisions made by a school or district. Armed with this knowledge, it is imperative for music educators to inform all parents of the importance of the arts and to cultivate them as advocates for their students and for arts programs.

School leaders affirm that the single most critical factor in sustaining arts education in their schools is the active involvement of influential segments of the community. These community members help shape and implement the policies and programs of the district. Gaining the Arts Advantage, The President’s Council on the Arts and Humanities, 1999

There are numerous direct and indirect ways to communicate your message to parents. Some indirect ways may include posting research facts on marquees and community bulletin boards or providing table tents to local restaurants. You can write articles for the school newsletter or even provide a recording of your group to be played when callers are placed on hold at your school. The ideas are only limited by your creativity.

A more direct method is preferable if you are trying to recruit parents for active involvement in your programs. To inform the parents of your students (or other target groups) you need to develop a method to communicate with them on a regular basis. Start with a welcome back letter at the beginning of the school year and continue to update parents on a monthly or quarterly basis. Be sure to include information about the curriculum and how it will benefit their children. Include research quotes in these communications to back up your claims. I have listed some quotes below that might be useful in parent communications.

of ten adults and teenagers who play instruments agree that music making brings the family closer together. .
Music Making and Our Schools, American Music Conference, 2000
In a 1999 Columbia University study, students in the arts are found to be more cooperative with teachers and peers, more self-confident, and better able to express their ideas. These benefits exist across socioeconomic levels. .
The Arts Education Partnership, 1999
Music students demonstrate less test anxiety and performance anxiety than students who do not study music. .
College-Age Musicians Emotionally Healthier than Non-Musician Counterparts, Houston Chronicle, 1998
Martin Gardiner of Brown University tracked the criminal records of Rhode Island residents from birth through age 30, and he concluded the more a resident was involved in music, the lower the person’s arrest record. .
Music Linked to Reduced Criminality, MuSICA Research Notes, Winter 2000
College admissions officers continue to cite participation in music as an important factor in making admissions decisions. They claim that music participation demonstrates time management, creativity, expression, and open-mindedness. .
Carl Hartman, Arts May Improve Students’ Grades, The Associated Press, October, 1999
The U.S. department of education recommends that middle/junior high school students take courses in the arts, stating “Many colleges view participation in the arts and music as a valuable experience that broadens students’ understanding and appreciation of the world around them. It is well known and widely recognized that the arts contribute significantly to children’s intellectual development.” .
Getting ready for College dearly: A Handbook for Parents of Students in the Middle and Junior High School Years, U.S. Department of Education, 1997
The nation’s top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st Center. .
The Changing Workplace is Changing Our View of education, Business Week, October 1996
Students who participate in school band or orchestra have the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs among any group in our society. .
H. Con. Res. 266, United States Senate, June 13, 2000
A majority of the engineers and technical designers in Silicon Valley are also practicing musicians. .
The Case for Sequential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of Public Schools, Center for the Arts in the Basic Curriculum, 1997
Ninth grade students in a Chicago arts program achieved reading scores that were a full grade level higher than students not in the program. All other variables, including race, gender, and socioeconomic status, were equal in this study. .
CAPE Study, President’s Council on the Arts and Humanities, 2000
The scores of elementary instrumental music students on standardized math tests increased with each year they participated in the instrumental program. .
Music training helps underachievers, nature, may 26, 1996
A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reports that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children’s abstract reasoning skills necessary for learning math and science. .
Frances Rauscher and Gordon Shaw, Neurological Research, University of California at Irvine, February, 1997
When researchers analyzed the NEL: 88 database of the U.S. Department of Education, which tracked 25,000 students over a ten-year period, they discovered that students who were involved in music scored higher on standardized tests than students not taking music courses. This finding was consistent for students of all socioeconomic backgrounds. .
James Catterall, UCLA, 1997

School Counselors

There seems to be a constant battle for students between high school music teachers and foreign language teachers. Many counselors recommend to parents and students that if their child is college bound, they should forget about music classes because college admittance officers are more interested in applicants having multiple years of language instruction. It is often important to educate your school counselors about the importance of the arts and to point out the value that most admissions officers place on student participation in music programs. If you want to go the extra mile, call the admissions office of the top three or four colleges that your students will attend and ask about admissions requirements and how they score applications. Arming yourself with credible information is essential to your success. The following quotes may also be helpful in making your argument to the school counselors.

- College Board identifies the arts as one of the six basic academic subject areas students should study in order to succeed in college. .
  Academic Preparation for College: What Students Should Know and Be Able to Do, The College Board
- On 1999 SAT, music students continued to outperform their non-arts peers, scoring 61 points higher on the verbal portion and 42 points higher on the math portion of the exam. .
  Steven Demorest and Steven Morrison, Does Music Make You Smarter, Music Educators Journal, September, 2000
- College admissions officers continue to cite participation in music as an important factor in making admissions decisions. They claim that music participation demonstrates time management, creativity, expression, and open-mindedness. .
  Carl Hartman, Arts May Improve Students’ Grades, The Associated Press, October, 1999
- The nation’s top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st Center. .
  The Changing Workplace is Changing Our View of education, Business Week, October 1996
- The U.S. department of education recommends that middle/junior high school students take courses in the arts, stating “Many colleges view participation in the arts and music as a valuable experience that broadens students’ understanding and appreciation of the world around them. It is well known and widely recognized that the arts contribute significantly to children’s intellectual development.” .
  Getting ready for College dearly: A Handbook for Parents of Students in the Middle and Junior High School Years, U.S. Department of Education, 1997
- A majority of the engineers and technical designers in Silicon Valley are also practicing musicians. .
  The Case for Sequential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of Public Schools, Center for the Arts in the Basic Curriculum, 1997
- Students who participate in school band or orchestra have the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs among any group in our society. .
  H. Con. Res. 266, United States Senate, June 13, 2000

Administrators and School Board Members

Advocacy initiatives must also include administrators and school board members because they ultimately make the financial and curriculum decisions that affect your programs. Teachers tell me stories all the time about the support (or lack thereof) they receive from building principals. Administrators usually control music budgets and the priority music programs receive in the master schedule. For these reasons, it is imperative to continuously preach your message to them and enlist parents in your efforts. I have listed a few quotes below that seem to resonate with administrators and board members.

- The arts are recognized as a core subject in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act approved by both houses of Congress in 1994.
  National education Goals Panel
- When researchers analyzed the NEL: 88 database of the U.S. Department of Education, which tracked 25,000 students over a ten-year period, they discovered that students who were involved in music scored higher on standardized tests than students not taking music courses. This finding was consistent for students of all socioeconomic backgrounds.
  James Catterall, UCLA, 1997
- A 1997 study of elementary students in an arts-based program concluded that students’ math test scores rose as their time in arts education classes increased.
  Arts Exposure and Class Performance, Phi Delta Kappan, October 1998
- The scores of elementary instrumental music students on standardized math tests increased with each year they participated in the instrumental program.
  Music training helps underachievers, nature, may 26, 1996
- Ninth grade students in a Chicago arts program achieved reading scores that were a full grade level higher than students not in the program. All other variables, including race, gender, and socioeconomic status, were equal in this study.
  CAPE Study, President’s Council on the Arts and Humanities, 2000
- In 1999 Columbia University study, students in the arts are found to be more cooperative with teachers and peers, more self-confident, and better able to express their ideas. These benefits exist across socioeconomic levels.
  The Arts Education Partnership, 1999
- Students who participate in school band or orchestra have the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs among any group in our society.
  H. Con. Resolution 266, United States Senate, June 13, 2000
- College admissions officers continue to cite participation in music as an important factor in making admissions decisions. They claim that music participation demonstrates time management, creativity, expression, and open-mindedness.
  Hartman, Arts May Improve Students’ Grades, The Associated Press, October, 1999
- The nation’s top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st Center.
  Changing Workplace is Changing Our View of education, Business Week, October 1996

Step 3: Continuous Efforts

Michael Gielniak has been working with students around the globe for 20 years. He holds degrees from VanderCook College in Chicago, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich, and Oakland University. Mr. Gielniak has studied with such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Sergiu Celibidache, Nicholas Harnoncourt, and Guenter Herbig, and has worked with professional and youth orchestras throughout Europe. Mr. Gielniak began his teaching career in the Chicago Public Schools and served as the Fine Arts Coordinator in the Berkley School District and as the Fine Arts and Gifted and Talented Consultant for the Macomb Intermediate School District. In his position at the Macomb ISD, Mr. Gielniak worked with the 21 Macomb County school districts to develop standards-based arts programs, implement professional artist residencies and raise funds through local, state and federal grants. He continues to work extensively with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and districts around the state. Mr. Gielniak has been involved with several notable projects at MDE that include managing the development of arts content for the Clarifying Language in Michigan Benchmarks (MiClimb), serving on the rubric development committee for Education, Yes!, and reviewing Michigan’s teacher preparation standards in the fine arts. Mr. Gielniak is currently developing the Center for Creative Learning and Teaching, an educational think-tank involved in research, staff development and advocacy.

Advocacy: Using quotes and research to advocate for your programs

Michael Gielniak