Education Secretary Urges Schools Not To Cut Arts Programs

Monday, March 1, 2004

Education Sec’y Urges Schools Not To Cut Arts Programs (NAPSA)—Education Secretary Rod Paige is encouraging school districts to let the music play. In a letter to America’s 16,000 school superintendents, Paige urged them not to cut arts programs. District leaders had warned that state budget cuts and the focus on math and reading in schools—dictated by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act—have limited arts instruction. “As I travel the country, I often hear that arts education programs are endangered because of No Child Left Behind. It is disturbing and just plain wrong,” Paige wrote. “For both the important knowledge and skills they impart and the ways in which they help students to succeed in school and in life, the arts are an important part of a complete education. As we work together to implement NCLB, let’s ensure that all chil- dren have the opportunity to learn and grow in and throughthearts.” Amazing statistics for example, show that “Music majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to medical school,” and “High school music students have been shown to hold higher GPA’s than non-musicians in the same school.” One organization that wholeheartedly supports Paige’s actions is SupportMusic.com. This group was launched in 2003 by the Music Education Coalition with the goal of offering resources and information to parents, educators and organizations to help guaran- tee music education to every stu- dent. Since its inception, Support Music.com has joined with dozens of national and local affiliates to generate support of music education in schools. “Research affirms the impor- Smart Arts: Mean SAT Scores 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 HD Verbal: with Music Verbal: no Music Math:with Music Math: no Music @ For more on how music programs offer a number of benefits for students, including academic achievement, visit SupportMusic.com. tance of music and arts education as part of the core curriculum, equipping children with the skills they need to create a positive future,” states Mary Luehrsen, spokesperson for the International Music Products Association and executive director of the International Foundation for Music Research. “If we want to ensure achievement and success for our children both in school andinlife, we must make sure that they have access to music and the arts today and in the future.” Resources at SupportMusic.com help provide answers to questions about the value of music in building intelligence, ways that budget cuts improperly target music programs and combating the trend of eliminating music from school curriculums. To find out how you can help keep music in schools, log on to www.SupportMusic.com.

--- PHOTOS ---

File: 20190801-094538-20190801-094536-62355.pdf.jpg

--- FILES ---

File: 20190801-094536-62355.pdf