The Power of Arts Education Comes to Getty

Only one out of five public schools in California has a dedicated arts teacher, but new funding is set to change that.

Prop. 28, which passed last fall, promised nearly $1 billion to infuse schools with the resources needed to expand arts education. But questions still remain about how to staff up during the state’s enduring teacher shortage and how to allocate the funds.

On Monday more than 400 educators from 55 districts across California convened at the Getty Center to learn more from state leadership and to meet colleagues working to bring more arts into their classrooms. The day, emceed by actor and educator Ahmed Best, included a performance by YOLA, a discussion about the importance of the arts to the growth and development of the brain, and a tactical panel on how to access funding and support emerging teachers. The final speaker was actor John Lithgow, who stars in an upcoming KCET show on the value of arts education. “You are my heroes,” he told the audience.

How to allocate new funding wasn’t the only topic on attendees’ minds. While school shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic caused many children to fall behind in traditional academic classes, there’s growing recognition that the arts and music can help students thrive in all subjects.

“Right now, the academics are obviously being pushed because of COVID, but because of COVID, everyone now sees that it's not just about the academics. We need some balance,” said educator Mercedes Buckhorn, an arts program specialist for Montebello Unified School District. A teacher for 19 years, she saw first-hand how the arts impact students. “They learn so much from the arts,” she said, “and it transitions into their academic classes.”

At the same time, a teacher shortage means that staffing up, a requirement of Prop. 28, also poses challenges. During the discussion, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond addressed the teacher shortage and the need to get the word out that there are open jobs. “We’ve made a PSA that says ‘become a teacher,’” he told the audience. But it’s not just about hiring, Thurmond emphasized, it’s also essential to support and retain teachers.

Throughout the day, speakers and attendees reiterated the power of the arts in learning and the importance of spreading the word about its necessity. “This moment is significant,” said Thurmond. “We have known forever that art supports many things, including academic achievement, our students’ social development, and creativity, [and] we can integrate arts into so many subjects.”

It was clear that the arts were vital to a vibrant future for all students. “Besides performing arts, there’s also the new digital arts,” said Ria Kubota, a music teacher in Glendora. “Arts are becoming one of the largest employers, especially here in this region,” she said.

We are “wired for art,” said speaker Susan Magsaman, co-author with Ivy Ross of Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us. “The brain is primed for learning through artistic expression and neural pathways are carved when the arts are introduced,” she explained, making the case that the arts are a game changer for education and should be as integrated into American schools as soccer is today. “California can be a leader for the country if we do this right,” said Ross.

“Every single one of us is entitled to an optimistic future,” said Best, wrapping up the day. “And to build that optimistic future, we have to be allowed to dream. We have to be allowed to imagine. And those dreams and that imagination is cultivated through an arts education. That's how we do it.”