NYCDOE Schools lack funding for Music and Art Curriculum

Class 601

Ms.R. Jones

Introduction:

Figures from the New York City Department of Education’s DOE Annual Arts in Schools Reports shows a 47 percent decline in spending to hire arts and cultural organizations to provide educational services for students, and an even steeper decline in spending on arts supplies and equipment over the past seven years.

Arts experiences boost critical thinking, teaching students to take time to be more careful and thorough in how they observe the world. Art programs provide challenges for students at all levels. Art education connects students with their own culture as well as with the wider world.

Unfortunately, many public schools are not equipped with the time, resources, or training to give kids proper training in the arts. The arts are seldom a part of students' curriculum even though parents recognize the importance of the topic.

There needs to be laws, funding and training resources so that art can be incorporated in every public school from k-12.

TASK

During this unit, we will take some time to focus on the real-world problem of the need for more art programs in NYC Public Schools. You will be divided into groups of three and you will be responsible for putting together a presentation that will give us ideas about how we can improve on getting extra art programs in NYC Public Schools.

PROCESS/RESOURCES

In your group, you will work together and use the steps of the PPA in order to do research for the project. Over the next few days in class, you will be using the PPA Process to create a presentation of your findings about having more funding for art programs in NYC Public Schools. The steps of the PPA Process are the following:

1. Define the problem

2. Gather Evidence

3. Identify the cause

4. Evaluate the existing Policy

5. Develop a solution

6. Select the best solution

Day One and Day Two: Define the Problem and Gather Evidence

Students enjoy being able to draw, sing and learn about various artists and musicians. This helps with students’ critical thinking skills. In your groups, you will show how important it is to have art programs in all NYC Public Schools. You will use the laptops in order to do this task. I will provide you with a few resources.

https://www.centerforartsed.org/

https://nces.ed.gov/pubs95/95082.pdf

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/02/arts/design/arts-education-necessary.html

Once you have reviewed the articles in your group, fill out the following worksheets.

Worksheet1: Defining the Social Problem

Date: _________________ Group Members: ____________________________________________

In one or two sentences, state the nature of the social problem that your group plans to study.
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What is the specific community location of the social problem? Your answer should include both the governmental authority (e.g. school board, city council) and the particular geographic location (review Internet examples).
______________________________________________________________________________________
List at least three undesirable social conditions that result from this problem:
1. ______________________________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________________________
Write a short phrase that summarizes the social problem and its geopolitical location.
(examples: Hate crimes in Urban, NY; vandalism at Jones Middle School; DWI traffic deaths in Texas; the high U.S. budget deficit)

______________________________________________________________________________

Worksheet2: Gathering evidence of the problem

Date: ____________ Group Members: ___________________________________

Your problem (phrase): __________________________________________________________

Present evidence that a problem exists. Be as specific as possible and cite at least one source of data:

______________________________________________________________________________________

Worksheet3: Identifying the causes of the problem

Date: ____________ Group Members: ______________________________

Your problem (phrase): __________________________________________________________________________

Briefly list several underlying factors that contribute to the problem that you have identified (support these factors with evidence):

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Day Three: Evaluate existing policy

Today you will look at policies that are in place for your problem and evaluate them using the worksheet provided. I have provided you with some sites to get you started on your task.

https://www.schoolchoicefacts.org/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA8sauBhB3EiwAruTRJnuQUY7H3QxYq7lN8ipdolLt7d4PBkGtUE4TIhb85rYSIWh7WDOEHRoCWJIQAvD_BwE#map

https://infohub.nyced.org/in-our-schools/programs/arts-education/arts-education-school-programs/office-of-arts-and-special-projects-contacts

https://www.weteachnyc.org/resources/collection/arts-alignment-blueprint-benchmarks-nys-performance-indicators/

Worksheet 4: Evaluating Existing Public Policies

Worksheet4: Evaluating existing public policies

Date: _______________ Group Members: _____________________________________________

Your problem (phrase): ________________________________________________________________

State one of the major existing policies that attempts to deal with the social problem:
_________________________________________________________________________________________ What are the advantages of this policy (ie effectiveness, costs, enforcement, public acceptance):
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________________________________________ What are the disadvantages of this policy? (ie effectiveness, costs, enforcement, public acceptance):
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________________________________________ Based on your evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages, should the current policy be totally replaced, strengthened, or improved? What advantages, if any, from the current policy should be retained? What disadvantages, if any, should be eliminated?

_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Day Four: Develop Solutions

For this step, you will look back at the policies you evaluated in the day three assignment. Use the worksheet to develop possible solutions for the problem.

Worksheet 5: Developing Public Policy Solutions

Worksheet5: Developing public policy solutions

Date: __________________ Group Members: _________________________________________

Your problem (phrase): _________________________________________________

Propose at least three new/original public policy alternatives. Be sure that all of your public policy alternatives are at the same geopolitical level as your social problem. Each alternative must specify the actual government or government agency that will carry out the proposed action. List the proposal that your group considers the most promising first.

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Day Five: Select the best Solution:

For this final step, you will use the worksheet to analyze and select the best solution that will solve the problem.

Worksheet 6: Select the Best Solution

Worksheet6: Selecting the best public policy solution

Date: Group Members:

Your problem (phrase):

1. List the three public policy alternatives from Worksheet 5. Create a short word or abbreviation to summarize each policy and write it at the end of each policy (see example).

2. Use the format in the example to complete the matrix below:

Use the format in the example to complete the matrix below:

EFFECTIVENESS	FEASIBILITY
		HIGH	MEDIUM	LOW
	HIGH
	MEDIUM
	LOW

3. Discuss the reasons for your decisions in the matrix.

4. Discuss why your group prefers one alternative over the other two alternatives.

Evaluation

Task	Great job 4	Good 3	Almost 2	Not evident 1
Group Work	Work well in group	Worked well with some/all of the group	Worked with some group members	Did not engage with the group during the project
Knowledge and Content and research	Used multiple resources to do project	Used two sources to research project	Used one resource to research project	Did not use any sources to research project
Presentation	Includes all steps of the PPA	Includes some steps of the PPA	Includes less than three steps of the PPA	None of the steps of the PPA are included

Conclusion

Throughout this project, you have worked in groups to find ways that NYC Public Schools can incorporate more art and music programs into the curriculum for k-12 students. You have done research, looked at policies, and created a presentation. You have also come up with solutions that you feel would best benefits students in the NYC Public School System.

Standards

Reading standards for Literacy in science and Tech Subjects 6-8 Key ideas and details

RST1: Cite specific evidence to support analysis of scientific and technical texts, charts and graphs.

RST2: Determine central ideas or conclusions of a source, provide an accurate objective summary of the source.

Grade: Middle School (6-8)