Join Dustin Loehr, Director of Arts Education and Title IV-A, as he sits down with two mavericks of Arizona Arts Education, Zarco Guerrero and Catherine "Rusty" Foley. They chat about their roles influencing the Arts Education landscape in Arizona and their personal experiences that brought them to the field. This is one you don't want to miss!

HAPPY NATIONAL ARTS IN EDUCATION WEEK 2021

Dear Arts Education Community,

National Arts in Education Week is a national celebration recognizing the transformative power of the arts in education. Here in Arizona we know that the Arts – Dance, Music, Theatre, Visual, and Media Arts – are essential components of a complete and well-rounded education. Through the Arts, we share and celebrate humanity’s highest achievements and develop enduring historical and cultural understandings of ourselves and the world around us. A balanced, comprehensive, and sequential program of study in the Arts allows Arizona’s students to learn and practice skills and behaviors that foster critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creative problem solving. The Arts seamlessly integrate with other disciplines and subject areas to create engaging and rigorous learning opportunities for all students. Instruction in the Arts builds discipline, enhances self-esteem, inspires creativity, fosters linguistic, numeric, and aesthetic literacy, and encourages students to make and reach personal and academic goals.

In this newsletter we will explore the history of National Arts in Education Week, hear from Superintendent Kathy Hoffman about why arts are essential, and explore recent studies about the benefits of arts education. We will also hear from students, teachers, parents and community members about how arts education has impacted the lives of Arizona students. As we wrap up from an exciting week that celebrates the power and beauty of arts in education, we look forwards to a bright future for Arizona as shaped by arts education.

ADE Arts Education