An Introduction to
The Transformative Power
of the ARTS in
Closing the Achievement Gap
California County Superintendents
Arts Initiative
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Acknowledgments
Introducing a new resource for understanding the critical role of the arts
in closing the achievement gap and developing the capacities needed
for 21st century learning and success
 CCSESA Arts Initiative and the CISC VAPA Subcommittee
 William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
 San Francisco County Office of Education
 Francisca Sánchez, SFUSD Chief Academic Officer, Project Executive
Producer
 Dr. Fred Dobb, Principal Researcher and Writer
 Antigone Trimis, San Francisco USD VAPA Staff Lead
 Debra Koffler and José Luis Mejía, Conscious Youth Media Crew, Video
Producers
 Patty Taylor, CCSESA Arts Consultant, Document Reviewer
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Context & Purpose
 Focus on the Transformative Power of Visual and Performing
Arts Education and Educators
 Spark, increase, and sustain student engagement, achievement
and 21st century success, especially powerful for marginalized
youth
 Provide positive, life-enhancing experiences, skills, and direction
 Help eliminate demographic predictability
 Purpose
 Share this potential through a variety of connected resources
 Provide the essential background parents and educators need to
understand the relationship between the achievement gap and
arts education
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Transformative Power
The ability to spark, increase, and sustain
engagement, academic achievement, and
21st century success outside of school,
particularly for students marginalized by
traditional curriculum and instructional
practice, narrowly focused standardized
assessments, and institutionalized biases.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Convening the Community
 If you had to live in one of the arts disciplines, which
would you choose:
 Visual Arts
 Music
 Dance
 Theatre
 Go to the corner labeled with that arts discipline.
 Introduce yourselves.
 In what ways has this art transformed your lives?
 Create a summary statement about this.
 What is one implication of your experiences for school
reform efforts?
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Sharing Out
 Select a spokesperson to:
 Introduce the group members.
 Share
 A summary statement about your experiences of the
transformative power of your art discipline.
 An implication of this transformative power for our school
reform efforts.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Outcomes
 Engage participants in expanding their
understanding of how to use The Transformative
Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
with a variety of arts leaders and educators.
 Guide participants in exploring how to translate the
ideas in to support transformative, gap-closing
classroom practices in the arts.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Agenda
 Welcome
 Acknowledgments
 Context & Purpose
 Convening the Community
 Five Lenses for Understanding
the Gifts of the Arts
 Overview
 The Five Lenses
 Introduction to the Jigsaw Activity
 Jigsaw Activity
 Outcomes & Agenda
 Journal
 Organization & Key Questions
LUNCH
Poster Presentations
Supporting Resources
Closing the Day
 Benefits of the Arts
 Discussion & Reflection
 Elevator Speech
 After Action Review
 Closing Comments/Evaluation



 Introduction to Key Concepts

 The Achievement Gap & the Arts
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Notes & Reflection Journal - Purpose
 Organize workshop notes
 Apply what we know about the
brain
 Writing helps us sort things out.
 Writing helps us solve problems.
 Writing helps us move new
learnings into long-term memory.
 Writing helps us personalize
understanding.
 Writing makes us smarter.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Journal Organization
Table of Contents
#
Page
Topic
First Page
TOPIC
Page #
Notes
Reflection/
Question
6 Pages In
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
An Introduction
 Document Organization & Key
Questions
 The Achievement Gap
 Reflection
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Organization
Document Narrative
http://www.ccsesaarts.org/content/Transformat
ivePowerArts_guide.asp
 Section 1
Executive Summary (1)
Acknowledgments (2)
Introduction (3)
 Section 2
What Is the Achievement Gap? (5)
What Does All of This Have to Do
with the Arts? (10)
What Are the Benefits of the Arts? (13)
 Section 3
Language for Appreciating the
Gifts of the Arts (21)
What Are the Gifts of the Arts? (26)
 Section 4
 Gifts of the Arts in Action:
Programs Reaching Across the
Achievement Gap (32)
 Professional Development (34)
 Section 5
 Summary (36)
 References (40)
Visual Displays of
Information (20, 23 – 24, and 26-31)
Profiles (4, 8, 12, 19, 35, 39)
Video Profiles
http://www.ccsesaarts.org/content/Transf
ormativePowerArts_guide.asp
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Key Questions
 What do the arts have to do with the achievement
gap?
 What are the benefits of the arts for students?
 What does research say about the arts and student
academic and personal growth?
 What are the gifts of the arts for individuals and
society?
 How do we artfully redefine the achievement gap
and those trapped in it?
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
The Achievement Gap
 Often used to refer to differential test scores
between identifiable groups of students
 Historically Underserved Racial/Ethnic Minorities
 African Americans, Latinos, Pacific Islanders, American
Indians
 Poor Students
 English Learners
 Special Needs Students
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
The Achievement Gap
 Persistent
 Has Always Existed
 There are no “good old days.”
 Officially Recognized for Several Decades
 Resistant to and Sometimes Exacerbated by Most
Official School Reform Efforts
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
The Achievement Gap
 Pervasive
 Across Definitions of Achievement
 Test Scores, Grades, A-G Completion, and Credit Accrual
 Drop-Out, Graduation, and College-Going Rates
 Placement in Honors/Advanced Courses, GATE Programs,
and Special Education;
 Retention in Grade, Suspensions, and Expulsions
 Disciplinary Referrals
 Across and Within Socio-Economic Levels
 Across Geographic Areas
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
The Achievement Gap
 Predictable
 Achievement gaps in schools reflect social stratification,
discrimination and power relations in the society.
 Institutional Biases & Inequities
 Connected to Issues of Power and Access to:
 Resources: Funding Instructional Materials, Facilities
 Powerful Curriculum & Instruction
 Experienced & Well-Qualified Teachers
 Culturally & Linguistically Responsive Approaches
 High Expectations & Welcoming Learning Environments
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
The Achievement Gap & the Arts
He was transformed by this experience (acting in a
film) and continues to follow an actor’s path. During
times of incredible hardship, I watched him use this
as a focus to transform his feelings of hurt and
anger. Giving kids a chance to articulate and work
through their emotions without taking it out on the
street or another person is the most important
reason to teach any art form. It is life-changing for
many young people.
Anonymous Teacher’s Comment
Forum, KQED Radio, April 12, 2009
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
The Achievement Gap & the Arts
Innovation, of course, is a business buzzword. So some
business schools are embracing an innovation-oriented
approach known as ‘design thinking’ in which students take
their understandings of the world and use them on the path
to creativity.
“Multicultural Critical Theory. At B-School?” New York Times, 1-10-10
Financial firms are sending their back-office jobs overseas.
But what do artists do? They create something new,
unexpected and delightful that changes the world. Masters
in Fine Arts’ abilities are harder to outsource and more
important in an abundant world.
Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
The Achievement Gap & the Arts
The arts can help students become
tenacious, team-oriented problemsolvers who are confident and able to
think creatively. These qualities can be
especially important in improving
learning among students from
economically disadvantaged
circumstances.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Discussion & Reflection
 At your table, do a quick whip around so each
person has 10 or 15 seconds to respond to this
question:
 What stood out to you from what we’ve shared and
experienced thus far?
 Now, discuss the following:
 How do the information and experiences match or not
match your experience in your work setting?
 Save 2 minutes to do a quick journal reflection.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
BREAK
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Benefits of the Arts
 Benefits for All Students
 Academic Benefits across the
Curriculum
 Benefits for Marginalized Populations
 Intrinsic Benefits
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Benefits for All Students
 The Arts, Creative Learning,  Making a Case for the
Arts (3-year study of 10
and Student Achievement
 Higher reading, writing, and
science test scores
 Lower dropout rates
 Better preparation for future
education and the workplace
 Enhanced parental
involvement
 Strengthened workplace skills
of creativity and imagination
elementary, middle and high
schools)
 Higher standardized test
scores
 Greater student motivation
for school work
 Greater student roles in
their own learning
 Improved student behavior
and attendance
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Academic Benefits
 Correlation v. Causality
 Most studies show a relationship between student participation
in the arts and growth in other areas, rather than direct
causation.
 Doing Well and Doing Good by Doing Art
 Reports positive correlations between a student’s involvement in:
 The arts and academic success
 Instrumental music and mathematics achievement
 Sustained involvement in theatre arts and development of a student’s
empathy, self-concept and motivation
 These findings held for low-income students.
 James Catterall in Critical Evidence
 Students involved in the arts are demonstrably doing better in
school than those who are not.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Academic Benefits – Causal Evidence
 Listening to Music and Spatial-Temporal Reasoning
 Medium-Sized Causal Relationship
 Suggests that music and spatial reasoning may rely on some of the
same underlying skills and on some of the same, or proximal, brain
areas
 Learning to Play Music and Spatial Reasoning
 Large Causal Relationship
 Effect greater when standard music notation was learned as well
 Effect works equally for both general and at risk populations
 Classroom Drama and Verbal Skills
 Medium-Sized Causal Link
 Drama helped children’s verbal skills with respect to the texts enacted
 Also helped children’s verbal skills when applied to new, non-enacted
texts
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Benefits for Marginalized Students
Arts learning experiences play a vital role in developing
students’ capacities for critical thinking, creativity,
imagination, and innovation. These capacities are
increasingly recognized as core skills and competencies all
students need as part of a high-quality and complete 21stcentury education. And, as a matter of social justice, we
must be concerned when students are denied access to a
high-quality education—one that includes learning in and
through the arts—simply because of where they live or go
to school.
Sandra Ruppert
Critical Evidence of How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Benefits for Marginalized Students
The arts provide pathways of expression and understanding
that come directly from the students’ experiences; they are
ways for teachers to gather information about learners and
their cultures. The arts are our history and our vision. They
record, are shaped by, and reflect culture, and in turn,
transform culture by providing a focus for reflection…. When
students are actively engaged in creatively thinking, they
focus on ways that call for flexibility in thought and
integration of emotionality, rationality, and meaning that is
necessary for success in academic settings and elsewhere.
Mary Stone Hanley and George W. Noblit
Cultural Responsiveness, Racial Identity and Academic Success
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Benefits for Marginalized Students
 The arts allow students to:
 Own the process and content of learning
 Communicate their life experiences
 Reinterpret their lives.
Engagement in the arts may provide a means of
redirecting the anger, anxiety, and alienation
reported by numerous students of color.
Stone Hanley and Noblit
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Culturally & Linguistically Responsive
Arts Instruction
 Uses culture to promote positive racial and ethnic identity.
 Uses that identity as an asset in learning and development.
 Educates about racism and group advancement to
encourage high achievement and resilience in the face of
oppression.
 Employs the arts to produce a wide range of competencies.
 Develops caring relationships as an initial step to inspire
students to work academically.
 Builds on student strengths and assumes academic and
personal success.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Intrinsic Benefits of the Arts
The arts are fundamental to children’s education
and they are fundamental because the arts are
fundamental to human nature, to the human
being, so I do not see art as an instrument to
teach something else. The primary reason why we
need strong arts programs in the schools is that
human beings are artists. One way we grapple
with ideas is through the arts…. A school that has
ignored the artist in us has done damage.
Deborah Meier
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Intrinsic Benefits of the Arts
 Students in Arts-Based Organizations/Programs
 Exhibited strong motivation, persistence, and critical
analysis and planning abilities.
 25% more likely to report feeling satisfied with
themselves
 Twice as likely to win awards for academic achievement
 23% more likely to feel they can make plans and
successfully work from them
 The arts hold the potential for both personal and
societal transformation.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Intrinsic Benefits of the Arts
Private Benefits
Private Benefits
with Public Spillover
Captivation
Pleasure
Expanded
Capacity for
Empathy
Cognitive
Growth
From
Public Benefits
Creation of
Social Bonds
Expression of
Communal
Meaning
Gifts of the Muse
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Discussion & Reflection
 At your table, talk about:
 What new learnings or insights have emerged for you
as a result of what you have heard or experienced thus
far today?
 What one thing must you now do (differently) as a result
of these new learnings or insights?
 Save 2 minutes to write a quick reflection in your
journal.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Gifts of the Arts Jigsaw





VAPA Framework Strands
Studio Habits of Mind
Pink’s Six Senses
Eisner’s Ten Lessons the Arts Teach
21st Century Skills
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Select Your “Lens”
 VAPA Framework Strands (Pp. 21 and 28-31)
 Facilitator:
 Studio Habits of Mind (Pp. 22-23 and 28-31)
 Facilitator:
 Pink’s Six Senses (Pp. 24-25 and 28-31)
 Facilitator:
 Eisner’s Ten Lessons the Arts Teach (Pp. 21-22 and 28-31)
 Facilitator:
 21st Century Skills (Pp. 26-31)
 Facilitator:
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Jigsaw Task
 Review
 The appropriate section in the document.
 Brainstorm & Consider
 Specific arguments for and examples of how this lens
connects to the other four and the power of these
connections to increase student engagement, achievement,
and 21st century skills.
 Create
 A poster that captures the key points of the lens, the
connections, and the impact.
 Present
 A 3-minute poster session to the larger group.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Poster Pointers
 A great poster is:




Readable
Legible
Well Organized
Succinct
 Pay attention to the layout.
 Decide what the main
message is and what text is
required.
 Short and sweet title
 Measure the space you
have.
 Eliminate all extraneous
material.
 Center title at the top.
 Sequence information from
left to right.
 Include empty space.
 Make room for decorative
elements.
 Vary the size of the lettering.
 Larger = more important
 Add color and visual
elements.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Gifts of the Arts Jigsaw
VAPA
Framework
Strands
Studio
Habits of
Mind
Six Senses
Ten
Lessons
21st Century
Skills
 REVIEW the appropriate section in
the document.
 CREATE a poster that
captures the key points
of the lens, the
 BRAINSTORM & CONSIDER specific
connections, and the
arguments for and examples of how
impact.
this lens connects to the other four
and the power of these connections
 PRESENT a 3-minute
to increase student engagement,
poster session to the
achievement, and 21st century skills.
larger group.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
LUNCH
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Poster Presentations
 3-Minute Presentations
 2-Minute Q/A After Each Presentation
 Audience
 Take notes in your journal!
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Supporting Resources
 Featured Programs Videos
 Inspiring Voice Materials
 References List
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Transformative Power Videos
http://www.ccsesaarts.org/content/TransformativePowerArts_guide.asp
Programs
 African Diaspora
Project
 Fundred Project
 Oakland Tech Dance
Program
 Music National
Service
 Downtown HS
Multimedia Arts
Project
 ORCHKIDS
Common Features
 An explicit commitment to students
served with an understanding of their
strengths, potentials, and needs.
 A consciousness that the skills taught
are pathways to accomplishment within
and beyond the arts curriculum.
 The ability to draw in students by
establishing how the programs are
relevant to their lives, and fashion
something different along the way.
 An ongoing exposure to working artists.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Inspiring Voice
 An ARTS LEARNING LEADERSHIP Professional
Development Series
 Sponsored by SFCOE and CCSESA Arts Initiative
 Explores How to Engage and Motivate Students
through Culturally and Linguistically Responsive
Arts Education
 Multiple Resources Available
 http://www.ccsesa.org/Arts/ArtsLearningLeadershipSeri
esInspiringVoice.cfm
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
References List
 The REFERENCES section of the document
provides sources for a number of books, articles,
research studies, and other resources.
 Pages 40-42
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Closing the Day




Elevator Speech
After Action Review
Evaluation
Closing Comments
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Your Elevator Speech
 Think of one person not in this group who is critical to
moving this work forward at your site or workplace.
 Real Individual OR Position
 Imagine that you’re in an elevator with that person.
 Create the 30 - 60 second elevator speech you would
share that:
 Captures what we intend to put into action;
 Provides a convincing message about why it matters to that
person; and
 Shares a vision of how that person will play a key role in
making it happen.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
After Action Review
 Take one of the colored cards at your table.
 Find the others in the room who share your color, and
introduce yourselves.
 Discuss the following questions:
159
 What happened today? What did we accomplish?
 What new learnings and insights emerged?
 As a result of these new learnings and insights, what
specific leadership actions or next steps will we take to
move the work forward?
 Decide on one new learning/insight and one
action/next step to share out to the larger group.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
Journal Update & Evaluation
 Use this time to update your journal.
 Finish notes.
 Add reflections or questions.
 Review your notes.
 Complete the workshop evaluation.
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
When silence is impossible, when injustice is
unbearable, sometimes a song, or better yet, a lifting
of many voices can tell a radical truth that is not easily
dismissed.
Carol Estes
My commitment to our struggle
recognizes neither boundaries nor limits;
only those of us who carry our cause
in our hearts are willing to run the risks.
Rigoberta Menchú
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
RADICAL LEADER
It means facing a system that does not lend
itself to your needs and devising means by
which you change that system.
The key word here is YOU.
Robert Moses
Radical Equations: Math Literacy and Civil Rights
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap
HOPE
To be human is to hope. To hope is to see
with your heart. . .
In these definitive moments of leadership,
be awake to possibility; . . . learn to believe;
and . . . step off the curb; and shine.
,
Andrew Razeghi
The Transformative Power of the Arts in Closing the Achievement Gap