INTEGRATING
the Arts in Education
Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSS)
New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE)
The New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards include Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards as well as K-12 standards for the Visual and Performing Arts. As the state of New Jersey continues to transform public education to meet the needs of a changing world and the 21st century workforce, capitalizing on the unique ability of the arts to unleash creativity and innovation in our students is critical for success.
The intent of the New Jersey Visual and Performing Arts Standards is built upon the philosophy and goals of the National Standards for Arts Education. Equitable access to, experience with, and knowledge of the four arts disciplines (dance, music, theatre, and visual art) is an essential component of the P-12 curriculum in the 21st century. Thus, the goal of the Arts Standards is that all students have regular, sequential arts instruction throughout their P-12 education.
State education chiefs and governors in 48 states came together to develop the Common Core State Standards, a set of clear college- and career-ready standards for K-12 in English language arts/literacy and mathematics. Today, 43 states have voluntarily adopted and are working to implement the standards, which are designed to ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to take credit bearing introductory courses in two- or four-year college programs or enter the workforce.
In addition, the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards is leading the revision of the National Standards for Arts Education to include eleven overarching anchor standards that align with all disciplines’ (dance, media arts, music, theater, and visual arts) performance standards.
The Arts Education Partnership is dedicated to securing a high-quality arts education for every young person in America, improving arts education practice, and researching how art influences and strengthens American education. As a national coalition of more than 100 education, arts, business, cultural, government, and philanthropic organizations, the AEP is widely known as the leading source of objective and nonpartisan information about current and emerging arts education research, policies, issues, and activities of national significance.
The AEP provides an ever-growing selection of resources to help partner organizations, arts educators, school leaders, and policymakers develop a better understanding of the Common Core and what the movement means for the arts. Also, ArtScan, a searchable clearinghouse of the latest state policies supporting education in and through the arts, and ArtsEdSearch, the nation’s first research and policy database focused entirely on student and educator outcomes associate with arts education, are accessible through the AEP.
Within the U.S. Department of Education, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Innovation and Improvement serves as the principal adviser to the Secretary on the development of promising educational interventions, including reforms that expand parental choice and information. Much like an entrepreneurial foundation, the Office oversees competitive grant programs that support the trial of innovations in the education system and broadly disseminates the lessons learned from these trials.
Specifically, the Improvement Programs' office oversees activities that support and test innovations throughout the K-12 system, including arts education and the integration of the arts into other core subjects. By supporting and evaluating promising innovations in education, the Office is responsible for the following discretionary programs: Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination Grants Program, Arts in Education National Program, and Professional Development for Arts Educators.
Arts Education Partnership (AEP)
U.S. Department of Education (USDOE)
Educational Standards
Standards. The New Jersey State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards on June 23, 2010. During the 2013-2014 school year, these educational standards were fully implemented throughout the state’s school districts.
It is imperative that educators fully understand the standards, align the English Language Arts and Mathematics Standards with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, and prepare our students to connect, collaborate, and compete in a 21st century global society.
The following selection of resources will provide teachers, administrators, and curriculum coordinators,
who support integrating the arts in education, access to information that pertains to the
educational standards for the State of New Jersey.
