This document discusses artists in need and the benefits of art. It explores three lines of inquiry: 1) The benefits of arts, citing studies showing improved academic outcomes for low-SES youth involved in arts. 2) Accessibility to arts, noting declines in arts programs in schools with high poverty rates. 3) Efforts to help, like a program providing free dance classes to low-income children. The document examines these topics to bring awareness to the issue of supporting artists.

1. B Y S O P H I A C . H O M
Artists in Need
&
The Need for Art

2. Introduction
Hello, I’m Sophia, and I am doing a project that
focuses on artists in need. Just imagine that one
thing that you love to do, whether it is a sport, an art,
or just a pass time. Think about what it would be like
to not be able to enjoy that activity. There are some
people out there that can’t participate in the thing
that they want to do most. I am a dancer, and I
wouldn’t be able to bear not being able to go to dance
in the afternoon. That is why I am researching this
topic, because it is close to my heart.

3. Central Idea
(Artists in Need and the
Need for Art)

4. First Line of Inquiry
This graph shows the test scores
of kids with different amounts of
arts exposure.
“Teenagers and young
adults of low socioeconomic
status (SES) who have a
history of in-depth arts
involvement show better
academic outcomes than do
low-SES youth who have less
arts involvement” quotes a
National Endowment for the
Arts article.
First Line of Inquiry: The Benefit of
the Arts.
Key Concept: Perspective

5. Second Line of Inquiry
Second Line of Inquiry: Accessibility to the Arts
Key Concept: Connection
In a 10-year study by the US Dept of Education, "The percentage of elementary
schools with a visual arts class declined from 87 to 83 percent. In drama, the
drop was larger: From 20 percent to 4 percent in the 2009-10 school year.”
The same 2000-2010 study noted that music programs were eliminated in 20% of
schools with a high percentage of low-income families.
(These are some facts that fall under the second line of inquiry.)

6. Third Line of Inquiry
Third Line of Inquiry: Efforts to Help this Problem.
Key Concept: Responsibility
Dance Chance with Springfield Ballet: Formed in the spring of 2007,
Dance Chance exists today as a partnership with Springfield Public Schools,
the Community Center of Springfield and Caring Communities to provide free
dance instruction to children at low-income schools. Springfield Ballet
instructors travel to McGregor Elementary, Williams Elementary and the
Community Center of Springfield for weekly dance instruction. In the Fall
Springfield Ballet provides an in-school demonstration at an all-school
assembly for each site. At the completion of each spring session, participants
demonstrate what they’ve learned for family and friends in a public
performance. More than two hundred children have benefited from this
program since its inception.
Visit www.springfieldballet.org for more information on out-reach programs at
Springfield Ballet.

7. Details
Transdisciplinary Skills: Research skills, thinking
skills, social skills, and self-management skills.
Learner Profiles: Caring, Communicator, Inquirer,
Open-minded, Principled, Risk-taker, and Thinker.
Attitudes: Commitment, Confidence, Creativity,
Enthusiasm, Independence, and Respect.

8. Action
http://youtu.be/UCBzJKJdSgg

9. Sources
 http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-arts-education
 http://www.nea.gov/research/Arts-At-Risk-Youth.pdf
 Stephanie Cramer (Director of Programs and Exhibitions, Springfield Regional Arts
Council)
 Caitlin Kissee (Business Affairs Manager, Springfield Ballet)
 https://www.educationfund.org/
 http://www.nysaflt.org/advocacy/pdf/SG_Complete_Curriculum_Arts_and_FL_2003.
pdf
 www.springfieldballet.org
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/report-arts-classes-at-
el_n_1398550.html
 fineartamerica.com
 www.portraitpaintingcn.com
 atmospherepainting.com

10. Stephanie Cramer, Artist