hr1129.html

06 LC 36 0051

House Resolution 1129

By: Representative Ashe of the 56th

A RESOLUTION

Urging the Georgia Department of Education to assess how Georgiás school districts are promoting learning in and through the arts; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, a Harris Poll released June 13, 2005, shows that 93 percent of Americans agree that the arts are vital to providing a well-rounded education for children and that more than half of those surveyed rated the importance of arts education a ten on a scale of one to ten; and

WHEREAS, seven teams of researchers under the Champions of Change Initiative, co-sponsored by the President́s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, concluded that arts in education transform learning environments and reach students who are not otherwise being reached; and

WHEREAS, the Education Commission of the States reports that studies over the past several years show that the arts can improve cognitive skills in reading, language development, and mathematics and help students develop problem solving and creative thinking skills; and

WHEREAS, a 1999 report from The College Board, which administers the SAT, showed that students who took arts courses outperformed their peers who did not take arts courses by 66 points on the verbal section of the SAT and 42 points on mathematics section; and

WHEREAS, a 2002 national symposium on the arts affirmed that the arts occupy a low rung on the ladder of educational priorities in most school districts despite the effectiveness of the arts in improving student performance and despite growing interest in the business community to recruit and retain a creative, critical-thinking work force.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the members of this body recognize the potentially powerful impact of the arts on improving the performance of Georgiás students and hereby call upon the Georgia Department of Education to study, review, and make available to the public no later than December 31, 2006, a report and recommendations as to the following concerning the state of learning in and through the arts in Georgiás schools:

1. The average number of weekly hours of arts instruction per classroom, by district;

2. A detailed description of how each district has shown teachers how to use the arts to improve instruction methods, regardless of the subject matter;

3. The average number of full-time or part-time visual arts, music, band, orchestra, drama, and dance instructor positions, per district;

4. The percentage of students enrolled in an art course, by district;

5. An accounting of how federal funding for arts education in the State of Georgia is being applied;

6. The number of employees at the district and state levels whose duties include overseeing or developing learning through the arts and what percentage of their time is spent doing so;

7. A list of elementary, middle, and secondary schools in each district that have grade levels with no arts education; and

8. The involvement and impact of publicly and privately funded arts organizations on arts education in Georgia schools.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to the Georgia Department of Education and the State School Superintendent.