Morgantown, W.Va. ( March 19, 2008 ) – The nonprofit Appalachian Education Initiative is working with the West Virginia Department of Education to conduct a comprehensive statewide survey assessing arts education programming in public schools. School superintendents and principals will complete the survey this spring. The results will be released in the fall.
“Today’s students need to develop critical thinking, technology and problem solving skills,” Lourdes Karas, executive director of the Appalachian Education Initiative, said. “Studies show students learn these skills through arts education. Music, theater and drama, dance, visual and literary arts classes provide exceptional opportunities for creative thinking and personal growth.”
Karas said this survey, the Status of Arts Education, will be the most comprehensive study done to date in West Virginia. The goal of the survey is to acquire information on arts education in every county and in every school in the state. The survey results will provide a snapshot of school arts programs for the 2007-2008 school year. West Virginia educators will be able to take the results of the study and compare their programs to those in other states and with the national education policies on arts education in public schools.
“We are seeking a 100 percent return rate from superintendents and principals,” Karas said. “It’s important to get as much information as we can because the more we know about what we have and what we need, the better able we are to improve our program.
AEI is a statewide, nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote students’ personal growth, academic performance and 21st Century workforce preparation by ensuring the availability of quality arts programs in our state’s public schools.
The survey will be distributed online by AEI to all school superintendents and principals. As each superintendent and each principal completes the survey, a real-time report will provide a look at the data already collected in the survey. The survey results will be compiled and analyzed over the summer so that AEI can issue a report during October 2008.
