Arts Education in Alaska | Reflecting on Access in Schools
The Alaska State Council on the Arts, the Alaska Arts Education Consortium, the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development and other state and local agencies have developed publications that reflect and support access to arts education in Alaska’s schools. These publications are offered as part of the How Are You Creative? effort to understand ways that teaching and learning in and through the arts and cultures in Alaska support individual, community, and statewide efforts to grow healthy, innovative, and resilient communities.
Arts Education Student Access and Equity in Alaska Report | Publication 2020
In 2019 the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, with assistance from the Education Commission on the States, looked into the number of students in Alaska who have access to at least one arts course. The purpose of this activity was to give stakeholders some of the information they need to address needs, close gaps, and devise strategies to reach even more youth with creative approaches to learning. The following data, collected from all Alaskan districts and presented by the DEED data team, gives us a picture of how many students do not have any access to an art course.
* No access means there are no arts courses available.
Arts Education Student Access and Equity in Alaska Report-2020
Arts Education in Alaska Five-Year Survey |Publications 2009, 2014, 2019
Beginning in 2008, the Alaska State Council on the Arts in partnership with the Alaska Arts Education Consortium, the Alaska School Administrators Association, Alaska school districts and other partners have surveyed school leaders to understand ways in which arts education is included in a well-rounded education. Repeated at five-year intervals, the survey queries superintendents and other key administrators about key components of a comprehensive arts education. As identified by other states and national organizations the basic components include district arts curriculum, highly qualified and/or trained arts teachers, district allocation of funds for instructional and human resources in the arts, students both elementary and secondary having regular, sequential instruction and experience with the arts, and professional development tin the arts for the teaching corps.
On Thin Ice: Arts Education in Alaska Schools-2009
Venture for Alaska’s Youth: Arts Education in Alaska-2014
Ebb and Flow: Arts Education in Alaska-2019
New Visions Progress reporting | Publications 2012, 2018
In 2009 the Alaska State Council on the Arts adopted a new initiative to “work with targeted districts to establish and implement arts cur
riculum in order to research and develop model arts education programs in rural and urban Alaska.” The New visions network was designed largely in response to the On Thin Ice report on Arts Education in Alaska. Progress reporting on the New Visions network offers case studies on how Alaska school districts have identified and implemented arts education strategies across Curriculum and Assessment, Professional Development, Leadership, Instruction and Community Engagement to reflect their unique needs and realities.
NewVisions: NewHope-A Progress Report-2012
NewVisions: NewHorizons-A Progress Report-2018
Do you know about publications, reporting or research to add to this story about arts education in Alaska? To help grow the body of knowledge on access to arts education in Alaska’s schools, Give Feedback through the How Are You Creative? Participate page, or comment below.