A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Children's Learning and the Arts Task Force
Birth to Age Eight

Sara Goldhawk
Goals 2000 Arts Education Partnership

The Goals 2000 Arts Education Partnership has created a Task Force on Children's Learning and the Arts: Birth to Age Eight to explore the role of the arts in developmentally appropriate learning experiences of young children and the effect on their cognitive and affective development.

The Arts Education Partnership was formed in 1995 through a cooperative agreement between the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, and the Council of chief State School Officers. Over 100 national organizations committed to promoting arts education in elementary and secondary schools throughout the country have joined the Partnership to help states na local school districts tap the resources available through the Goals 2000 legislation.

The new Task Force met for the first time on June 26, 1997 to begin the work of using the Arts Education Partnership to reach the national goal of seeing that "All children in America will start school ready to learn." In addition, US Secretary of Education Richard Riley has asked the Partnership to assist and advise the Department in implementing the America Reads Challenge. The goal of the Challenge is to help all children learn to read independently by the end of the third grade. The Task Force will explore the specific assistance Partnership organizations can provide to the achievement of the Challenge.

The Task Force identified the following as the focus of their work:

• identifying the role and best practices of the arts in assisting the work of the U.S. Department of Education's America Reads Challenge;

• identifying best practices in using the arts in children's learning including practices for educators, parents and other care givers; and

• identifying, stimulating, and disseminating research on the arts in children's learning.

The Task Force plans to publish a position statement on the role of the arts in the learning and development of children through grade three. It also will develop a database of current research, model programs and best practices, organization, materials, and resources related to the topic. A set of recommendations for addressing gaps in these areas will be developed. The role of the arts in literacy development will be a focus of the database. The Task Force will publish alerts to Partnership organizations on the opportunities for arts education presented by the America Reads Challenge legislation and activities.

Task Force meetings are open to all participating organizations. Organizations that wish to participated should contact:

Task Force on Children's Learning and the Arts: Birth to Age Eight
Goals 2000 Arts Education Partnership
c/o Council of Chief State School Officers
Suite 700
One Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20001
e:mail: aep@ccsso.org

Back to Previous Article

Forward to Next Article