Hearing: Preliminary Education Budget Hearing
Delivered by Kimberly Olsen, Executive Director
First a thank you to Chair Joseph and fellow Committee Members, we are so grateful for your passion, leadership, and stewardship of the City Council’s Committee on Education.
My name is Kimberly Olsen, and I am the Executive Director of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable and teaching artist working at P396K a District 75 school in Brownsville.
NYC’s public school students have been through a lot the last two years during COVID:
- Lost learning time
- Suffering from the mental and emotional strain of remote learning
- Processing trauma associated with pandemic and racial injustices in our city and country
Transforming our city’s schools starts with the arts.
The arts provide evidence-based solutions for engaging students in learning, increasing our parent involvement, improving academic outcomes, supporting student mental health, and promoting well-being. We know an excellent arts education is the foundation and launching pad to success in school and life. However, under-investment in Arts Education in NYC has been recurrent. Prior to COVID-19, 67% of principals noted funding for the arts was generally insufficient. Only 34% of middle schoolers are meeting the state arts learning requirements. 17% of schools still lack a certified arts teacher. Almost 30% of schools no longer partner with an arts or cultural organization.
As echoed on this hearing we want inviting, colorful, vibrant, and thriving school communities — that starts with the arts.
The NYC Arts in Education Roundtable recommends that the DOE makes sure all schools can provide required arts instruction to all students by taking the following steps:
1) Baseline Per Capita Arts Education Funding
In the 2021-22 school year, the DOE recommended that schools use just $79.62 per student of their FSF allocation for arts. We recommend boosting the per student arts allocation to $100 from $79.62. These funds give schools the resources needed to meet NYSED arts instructional requirements and are spent at each principal’s discretion for hiring new arts teachers, buying supplies, and building community partnerships to meet the unique needs of their school community (Pre-COVID, 67% of principals reported that funding for the arts was “insufficient”).
The NYC Arts in Education Roundtable recommends that the DOE makes sure all schools can provide required arts instruction to all students by raising the per student arts allocation to $100 per student per year and by requiring the funding be spent on the arts. There is a precedent for required per capita spending in arts education. Per the former Comptroller Scott Stringer’s 2014 State of the Arts report, “In 1997, BOE created Project ARTS, the first per capita funding allocation for arts education since the 1970s. Project ARTS funds were targeted for direct instruction in core arts areas, related equipment, resource materials and supplies and partnerships with arts and cultural services.” In FY 2008, the Bloomberg administration eliminated Project ARTS due to the financial crisis of 2007–2008.
2) Center Arts and Cultural Education in Summer Rising, After School, and Tutoring
Mayor Adams has announced plans to continue and expand the Summer Rising program and has indicated that the City will improve after school and tutoring programs available to families. The cultural community has long partnered with schools to enrich programming, improve instruction, and provide out-school experiences for students. In the first year of Summer Rising alone, 225 schools partnered with arts and cultural organizations to create hundreds of murals and community-rooted pop-up performances.
We request that the DOE build on success by continuing to direct at least $5.6M in funding for arts and cultural partnerships and opportunities during Summer Rising. We also call on the City Council to continue funding the CASA and Su-CASA initiatives.
3) Continue American Rescue Plan Act Academic Recovery Funding for Arts Instruction
Continue 20% allocation to standards-based arts instruction to promote social, emotional and academic support for all students
For the current school year, the DOE set aside $70 million or twenty percent of the $350 million in American Recovery Plan Act funding for academic recovery services specifically for the Arts. Engagement in the arts is not only therapeutic but also boosts academic achievement and school attachment. As we all know, schools were in pandemic response mode for much of this year and recovery will last for several years.
The DOE must devote 20% of the Fiscal 2023 American Rescue Plan Act Academic Recovery funding to expand standards-based arts instruction for all students and roll unused Fiscal 2022 ARPA arts funding into Fiscal 2023 for summer and school year programs. The pandemic recovery will take years and these vital supports for arts-based interventions should remain in place. This ~$44,000 allocation per school represents a down payment on what should be the universal right and access to quality arts education for all students, which begins by prioritizing students with disabilities, English Language Learners, students with economic need, and those in neighborhoods hardest hit by COVID-19.
4) Restore Cuts to Arts Services
The DOE must restore and baseline the $24 million for Arts Services cut when the pandemic hit New York City’s economy. This budget line includes Arts Partnership Grants that provide targeted opportunities for diverse groups of students, with a focus on English Language Learners, Students with Disabilities, and Family Engagement programs.
These arts services were among the first items cut in 2020 yet boost student achievement in and through the arts, while developing and promoting best practices in arts education, and supporting strong partnerships with community-based organizations.
The arts are an essential part of every student’s academic program. Thank you for your time, consideration, and commitment to our students.
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