PRIORITY #3: EDUCATION Strengthen the Pipeline for Future Creators and Champions of Culture
In Akron/Summit, we believe that all students deserve the opportunity to access high-quality, creative experiences, both in school and in the community.
We know that the arts have a positive impact on student attendance. motivation, and engagement. And we believe the arts—especially when extended across disciplines—encourage creative problem-solving.
Students who participate in the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, and students from low socioeconomic status who actively participate in the arts have a dropout rate of 4% as opposed to their peers with a low participation rate who have a dropout rate of 22% (Americans for the Arts, Arts Education Navigator).
Together, we have work to do.
Throughout the priorities, you’ll see each labeled with the potential investment required ($ to $$$$) and next steps including, “Implement (I),” “Explore (E),” “Expand (X),” and “Promote (P).”
(Banner photo: Roots of Rubber installation by Boa Mistura on the STEM Middle School plaza; Photography by John R Aylward from AkronStock.com.)
3.1 Arts Education
Inform the community about the benefits of arts education, and advocate for cultural experiences and arts-related educational and career pathways
Arts Education Advocacy: Advocate and support the exploration of sustainable ways to advance early childhood and K‐12 arts education in public and private schools. (E, $$$$)
Benchmarks & Impact: Work with Summit Education Initiative to identify benchmarks for educators and community members to demonstrate the impact of arts and culture experiences for students. (X, E, $$)
Neighborhood Learning Experiences: Explore and incubate ideas that integrate learning opportunities into public spaces and break down the barriers to learning. Build on the efforts of the City of Akron and County of Summit and its partners as they continue to create designs for public spaces, such as playgrounds, parks, splash pads, and other placemaking efforts. (E, $$$$)
Culture as Career Paths: Showcase artists, historians, curators, arts and culture administrators, and others working in the cultural sector as a way of showing students pathways to career opportunities. (X, $$)
3.2 Culture in the Classroom
Engage student learners as future leaders, patrons, and creators through school and cultural connections
Access to Cultural Experiences: Support meaningful learning experiences outside the classroom through growth and expansion of programs in Akron Public Schools, such as the GAR Foundation-funded Essential Experiences. (P, $$)
Student Cultural Advisory Council: Uplift the voices of future arts and culture creators and consumers by establishing a post-secondary Student Cultural Advisory Council to meet quarterly with the goal of advising organizations and leadership on policies and programming for the sector. (E, $$)
Connecting Schools to the Cultural Community: Foster a deeper connection between public, private, and charter schools to enhance learning and create a future pipeline of talent and advocates in our communities. This work can occur in and out of school time, should be adaptive to the needs of educational partners, and should include faculty, administration, parents, students, and the Akron cultural sector. (X, E, $$$$)
Areas of exploration may include:
Appointing members of cultural organizations and individual artists to Akron Public Schools’ College and Career Academy Advisory Committees. Advisory participation should extend beyond traditional arts curriculum to include science, technology, engineering, mathematics, humanities, and history.
Supporting professional engagement for secondary and postsecondary faculty.
Partnering to support learning opportunities for educators.
Exploring opportunities to leverage the arts to communicate more effectively with families and community members.
Identifying and supporting out-of-school time providers who are interested in developing or increasing their culturally-based learning curriculum and programming.
Partnering with the University of Akron, Kent State University, Stark State College, and cultural organizations to develop opportunities for internships and experiential learning experiences in arts, design, culture, humanities, and history students, positioning Akron and Northeast Ohio as a place conduit for professionals in the cultural sector.