Music Education

NORTH CAROLINA PTA
RESOLUTION FOR ARTS EDUCATION
(Passed May 2006)

RESOLUTION #2: FUNDING FOR ARTS EDUCATION

Whereas,
Public schools serve as the major provider of formal education for North Carolina’s youth in grades K-12; and

Whereas,
The arts help children develop literacy skills such as reading, writing, speaking and listening; and

Whereas,
The arts encourage divergent thinking and problem solving skills, enabling students to think creatively and critically; and

Whereas,
Current research has shown that arts education can play a critical role in a child’s academic and social development; and

Whereas,
Well-designed and executed arts education leads to overall improved academic performance, builds skills necessary for workplace success, and has a positive influence on the lives of students; and

Whereas,
Access and participation in arts education has bee proven to decrease and prevent negative behavior by at-risk youth; and

Whereas,
The No Child Left Behind law focuses exclusively on accountability in mathematics, reading and eventually science and thus diverts significant time and resources from other academic areas, such as arts education, therefore be it

Resolved,
That the North Carolina PTA calls on state legislators to fully fund arts education programs in grades K-12 in all counties; and it further

Resolved,
That our PTA membership advocate for arts education with school administrators and boards of education, and other individual that may influence and/or develop beneficial school policies relevant to arts education, and be it further

Resolved,
That PTA membership advocate for reasonable and equitable conditions for arts teachers to include adequate resources, appropriate schedules, and reasonable teaching loads to facilitate them to adequately deliver and assess the comprehensive Standard Course of Study in the disciplines of dance, music, theatre arts, and visual arts, and be it further

Resolved,
That the North Carolina PTA calls on state legislators to ensure that a unit of credit in arts education be required for graduation from high schools across the state in keeping with the majority of other states who already have this requirement; and be it further

Resolved,
That the North Carolina PTA calls upon the University of North Carolina system to acknowledge the value of arts education to student learning and accept credit in arts education courses as part of an integral and valid part of all students’ transcripts to include at least one required unit of credit in arts education for entrance into the university; and be it further

Resolved,
That the North Carolina PTA calls upon the Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education to embrace arts education as a part of the core curriculum. It is a viable part of all students’ comprehensive education, and an inherent part of providing a balanced curriculum for all students.