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Red Lake Middle School named one of four Turnaround Arts schools in Minnesota by Perpich Center for Arts Education

Golden Valley, Minn. – Perpich Center for Arts Education has chosen Red Lake Middle School as one of four schools to participate in Turnaround Arts: Minnesota, a national initiative designed to narrow the achievement gap and improve student engagement through the arts.

The other schools selected to participate in this two-year school improvement program are: Bethune Elementary School, Minneapolis; Northport Elementary, Brooklyn Center, Robbinsdale School District; and Northside Elementary School in St. James. Turnaround Arts: Minnesota is being led by Perpich Center for Arts Education (Golden Valley) and the Minnesota State Arts Board (Saint Paul).

Spearheaded by Perpich Center, the Minnesota program is one of six new localities from across the nation selected by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Arts and several private foundations.

Participating schools were selected by program partners through a stringent, nationally-vetted process. Selection criteria included demonstrated need and opportunity, strong school leadership and a commitment to arts education. Turnaround Arts schools represent elementary and middle schools from across the country and encompass a diversity of student demographics and urban, suburban and rural settings. The program will begin in July with a summer leadership institute in northern Virginia for all schools in the network.

Schools in the program receive intensive arts education resources and expertise and the schools' communities will be involved in strategic planning processes with guidance from Perpich, a state agency serving all schools, students and educators in Minnesota. Created in 1985 by the Minnesota state legislature, the agency seeks to advance K-12 education throughout the state by teaching in and through the arts. Selected schools will receive arts education training and resources to address their individual needs as well as access to community arts and cultural organizations and a national network of school leaders and teachers.

"It is a privilege to have the opportunity to be a part of the Turnaround Arts program," said Red Lake Superintendent Anne Lundquist. "I am looking forward to the opportunity to integrate the arts into the current improvement efforts underway at Red Lake Middle School"

The state legislature approved $750,000 specifically for the Minnesota Turnaround Arts initiative. In addition, the Minnesota State Arts Board has committed $300,000 for grants-up to $75,000 per school per year. Each school also will receive $25,000 in arts supplies, musical instruments and play licenses through national Turnaround Arts.

"One of the greatest challenges we face is student performance in the areas of academics and behaviors," said Red Lake Middle School Principal Susan Ninham. "My hope is the arts integration program will provide our students opportunities to envision themselves as successful at learning. They can get a high-quality education that includes art forms from their Anishinaabe culture."

Red Lake Middle School provides education to 275 children in grades 6-8. Most of the students live on the reservation. Ninham has led the school in turnaround efforts in recent years and says she sees the arts as key elements in the students' lives as well as a tool to help them build confidence and perform their best.

"Our community has a rich cultural heritage that makes use of the natural resources to express our unique identity and our connection to Mother Earth," Ninham says. "I hope our next seven generations can engage in bringing this artistic beauty into their lives and the Red Lake Nation."

The President's Committee has appointed high-profile artists – songwriter Clarence Greenwood (aka Citizen Cope), actor/rapper Doc Shaw and actor Sarah Jessica Parker – who will "adopt" Minnesota Turnaround Arts during the next two years to support the schools' educational reform efforts. Local Minnesota artists and cultural organizations also will participate with funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board.

"We look forward to working with the dedicated leaders and teachers of these schools," said Sue Mackert, executive director of Perpich. "Perpich has a strong tradition of collaborating with schools and communities across Minnesota to use arts education as a tool for addressing the systemic issues affecting achievement."

Arts education has been shown through numerous studies to be an important part of education as a whole and able to give students tools for success. Decades of research show that arts-engaged students perform better than their peers.

For example, recent studies show that students that participate regularly in the arts:

• Are more self-confident and better able to express their ideas;

• Have higher attendance and high school graduation rates; and

• Are more likely to go on to a four-year university, graduate from that university and go on to a career with potential.

Arts education can also benefit overall school culture and climate, especially when it is integrated into the school, giving teachers new tools, increasing collaboration, creating an atmosphere of creativity and inspiration and engaging parents and the community.

However federal data shows that students who need it the most are getting it the least. While affluent public schools have high rates of arts education, high-poverty schools often have almost none. There are over 5 million students in public elementary schools in this country without either a music or an arts class in their school. Almost all are high-poverty. Turnaround Arts hopes to change this picture.

"In Minnesota, we have seen a trend in schools cutting back on arts education to balance tighter and tighter budgets," Sue Mackert said. "We hope to change this picture. Perpich, in concert with our national and local partners, will show that arts education makes a difference." The program will provide both uniform and customized resources to respond to the particular arts education-related needs of the individual schools selected to participate.

A preliminary assessment of pilot schools in the Turnaround Arts program in other states shows that the hypothesis is holding true, with math and reading scores going up and students and families increasing engagement. The report leading to the establishment of the Turnaround Arts program as well as a new interim report on its effectiveness can be found at http://www.pcah.gov/publications.

About Perpich

Perpich Center for Arts Education is a state agency serving all schools, students and educators in Minnesota. Created in 1985 by the Minnesota state legislature, the agency seeks to advance K-12 education throughout the state by teaching in and through the arts. Perpich staff and faculty experts provide outreach, professional development, research, curriculum and standards development. Perpich is home to a public arts education library and an innovative, two-year, statewide residential high school that serves as a living laboratory for creative development in the arts. Additional information about Perpich is at perpich.mn.gov.

About the Minnesota State Arts Board

The Minnesota State Arts Board is a state agency dedicated to ensuring that all Minnesotans have the opportunity to participate in the arts. It receives appropriations from the Minnesota State Legislature and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and private sources. The Arts Board offers grants, services and other resources to individuals and organizations to stimulate and encourage the creation, performance and appreciation of the arts in the state. Additional information about the Arts Board can be found online at http://www.arts.state.mn.us.

About the President's Committee on The Arts and The Humanities

Created in 1982 under President Reagan, the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities is an advisory committee to the White House on cultural issues. The committee works directly with the three primary cultural agencies-National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services-as well as other federal partners and the private sector, to address policy questions in the arts and humanities, to initiate and support key programs in those disciplines and to recognize excellence in the field. Its core areas of focus are education, cultural exchange and creative economy. Under the leadership of the First Lady and Honorary Chairman, and through the efforts of its federal and private members, the President's Committee has compiled an impressive legacy over its tenure, conducting major research and policy analysis, and catalyzing important federal cultural programs, both domestic and international.

 

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