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Advocacy Strategies

Arts Education Navigator: Getting Started e-book

This e-book goes over the who, what, where, when, and how of arts education and arts education advocacy.

Arts Education Navigator: Mobilizing Support e-book

This e-book focuses on the ins and outs of campaign crafting and organizing for change. Take your arts education advocacy skills to the next level, by learning how to organize others to increase impact. 

ArtsEd Leader's Guide

This joint publication between Americans for the Arts and the National PTA provides a four-step process for parents and families to support arts education in their local schools. This guide includes worksheets with questions to ask about the state of arts education in your local school and district, along with a rubric to measure and evalutate the conditions of a healthy arts education ecosystem.

Encourage Creativity advocacy tools

Encourage Creativity: Teach the Arts is a suite of tools and resources to help you create a powerful message that contains both a story and data to more effectively convey the importance of arts education to our school and community leaders.

Arts Education Field Guide

This document describes the ecosystem of partners, players, and policymakers in the field of arts education. This is a great introduction into the complex network of decision-makers in arts education, with an analysis of the connections and partnerships that could strengthen arts education in your community.

State Arts Action Network

Connect with your state's arts advocacy organization to learn more about their actions on support arts education.

Facts and Figures

Arts Education Navigator: Facts and Figures e-book

An e-book published in 2013 by Americans for the Arts that highlights key data points drawing from classic arts education research.

2020 Congressional Arts Handbook: Facts and Figures

This document, produced by Americans for the Arts for the 2020 National Arts Action Summit, compiles a variety of facts and figures that support the benefits of the arts and arts education to be used for advocacy casemaking.

ArtsEdSearch

This database maintained by the Arts Education Partnership summarizes and analyzes research studies across a variety of arts education disciplines. 

ArtScan

This resource updated annually by the Arts Education Partnership features charts that compare education policies across the 50 states for instructional and graduation requirements, educator licensure, and whether arts are defined as a core academic subject. 

Visual Arts Matters

This document by the Arts Education Partnership summarizes key findings and outcomes about the benefits of visual arts education.

Music Matters

This document by the Arts Education Partnership summarizes key findings and outcomes about the benefits of music education.

Messaging

Arts Education is Essential unified statement

This statement, co-signed by over 50 national arts and education organizations, conveys the importance of arts education for all students and outlines three key messages: arts education is considered a part of a well-rounded education as defined in the Every Student Succeeds Act; the arts have played an uplifting and pivotal role during the heath crisis; and arts education is essential for the social and emotional well-being of students.

Arts Education Navigator: Making the Case e-book

This e-book shows how to effectively craft your message in your advocacy work to key decision makers.

Encourage Creativity video series

The "Encourage Creativity: Teach the Arts" video series showcases the voices of young people as they demonstrate the value and benefits they get from the arts in their lives. You can share this series with Teachers, Principals, Superintendents, Business Leaders, Community Leaders, and Policymakers.

Additional Resources

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource and Response Center

This resource by Americans for the Arts provides up-to-date news and resources for the arts and culture field to response to the pandemic. 

NAfME and NFHS: Fall 2020 Guidance for Music Education

This guide produced by the National Association for Music Education and the National Federation of State High School Associations provides practical guidance for PreK-12 schools as administrators and music educators seek to provide meaningful music instruction for students of all ages and grade levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Educational Theatre Association Recommendations for Reopening School Theatre Programs

This guide produced by the Educational Theatre Association offers recommendations for how theatre educators can continue to provide meaningful theatre education experiences for their students in the COVID-19 era, as well as programmatic guidance for state, district, and school decision makers who are tasked with deciding how education will be delivered to students in the 2020-21 school year and beyond.

National Art Education Association Tips for Returning to the Visual Arts and Design Classroom

This document, created by practitioners in the field, suggests approaches for successfully navigating the return to the art classroom.

National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Advocacy Resource Kit for Fall 2020

This site provides additional resources for advocating for music education in public schools with special considerations about school reopening plans for fall 2020.

Education Theatre Association Local Advocacy Resources

This page contains information on how to advocate for theatre education at the local level.

National Art Education Association Advocacy Toolkit

This page contains additional tips, messaging, and strategies for advocating for art education.

National Dance Education Organization Advocacy Tools

This page contains resources that will help in your efforts to become a more effective advocate for dance education.