Developing a District Arts Education Plan - Dennis Argul

Developing a District Arts Education Plan

Dennis H. Argul NJMEA Administration Chair dennisargul[at]gmail.com

On Friday, February 4, 2022, Dr. Laura Bassett, Supervisor of Arts Education, Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, presented to the NJMAA membership on the importance of developing a district arts education plan. Her presentation included a discussion of the NJ Department of Ed Arts Education Survey of 2021, district arts program goals, the process of developing an arts education plan, using the data collected in the plan development, surveying the key constituents of the district, providing resources, strategies, and recommendations for next steps, and finally, sharing the benefits of the process in her district.

What follows is an interview I held with Dr. Bassett on Tuesday, 3/8/22, as a follow up to her presentation and to possibly dig deeper in some areas.

DA: What is the importance of developing a district arts education plan?

Dr. B: The NJ Department of Ed Arts Education Survey asks districts to indicate whether or not there is a “written arts education plan.” This question was certainly the impetus within the group to be able to support administrators in terms of what a process like this can look like, if it is something they hadn’t done before. Think about our programs and the responsibility we have as supervisors. We are managing the day to day, but also always thinking about the big picture and long term goals of a program and how it serves the students in our district. Essentially, this was an example of a process or a framework that can be used to think through what you want to do, why you want to do it, and what it would look like to get there.

For me personally, processes like this help me to find the path towards enacting a plan or vision. When you have something concrete, with buy-in from your team, stakeholder input, and a clear set of steps to take to move forward, then even when there are unexpected changes - like a pandemic! - or transitions, the plan can remain in place as a guide.

DA: Did this work re-focus any of the work you were doing in your district, or did it help solidify the work you were already doing and tell you that you were on the right track?

Dr. B: I think a little bit of both. There were parts of this process that helped reaffirm ideas that I already had from observation and anecdotal evidence, mostly from talking to and learning from members of my team. This was not something I did alone. This was a large committee that included the music teachers, teachers of other subjects, and additional administrators. So, part of this was a reaffirmation of ideas that were already out there. Things that come up at department meetings or are discussed on a yearly basis. This process helped us support that, and in some cases helped us look at it a little bit differently than what we initially thought. There were some new ideas and discoveries. An example would be looking at the demographics of a program or a group and seeing the story in that data. It was also interesting to get feedback from the stakeholders across the community. Hearing from students was useful information. How often do you get to have ‘big picture’ feedback from students? It made us go from saying ‘we think this is what’s happening’ to ‘our students are telling us this is what’s happening.’ We asked students to give feedback on their music classes and programs, tell us what they participate in and why (or why not), and tell us what they find most engaging. We also asked students what classes or opportunities they would be interested in that we don’t currently offer. A really powerful piece of this was asking our elementary students if the music they learn about in school includes music from their culture or music in the language they speak at home. The information we found here was a real driver to the discussions and work we did and are continuing to do.

We spent a great deal of time finding and analyzing data that would help us in this work - from the qualitative survey data to quantitative student information. Districts analyze data all the time, but sometimes that practice can seem disconnected from what we are doing in the arts. I would argue that they never really are disconnected, but it can feel like that if the conversations are not built in a way that allows arts educators to be a part of that conversation. This process allowed my team to look at data that districts usually look at - like student performance and student demographic information - but then we were able to disaggregate it and look at the students in our programs to find out who we have but also, and probably more importantly, who we don’t have. The data analysis helped to tell the story of our programs in our district. I also think it was helpful for the teachers to see the relationship in the data as well. Our findings during this analysis continue to drive our discussions and planning.

DA: Was there one area that this process pointed out for you and your team to put extra attention on?

Dr. B: There were a couple of things that were driving us at the time that this process was started, which was right before the beginning of the pandemic. With the new VPA NJSLS coming out, this was an area of focus. We knew we wanted to and had to adjust our curriculum and instructional practices to align with the new standards and what the new standards mean for our field. To that end, one of the things that we tried to narrow in on was the opportunity for students to be creating, to be exploring, which are aspects that typically fall outside the traditional focus on performing. There was an intention in our work here to ask questions and to look at our program and our existing curriculum to find the gaps where standards were not being addressed, but also to determine, or maybe prove, that this [creating, exploring in music] is what students really want. We asked questions to students about what they connect to and enjoy in their music experiences both in school and out of school. We found clearly that they respond most positively to classes or learning activities where they are engaged in creating something they have ownership over. This impacted the way we looked at some of our existing classes. It has made us look at some of the traditional ensemble classes through a different lens, but also made us look at some of our electives and general music classes. The goal is to ensure that students are at the center of the planning, and they are learning by exploring and by doing through that artistic practice of creating.

When we looked at our programs and thought about what we needed to address, I’d say something that jumped out or was proven by the process were those barriers for students to participate in some of our programs. What we were able to do right away was work on getting information to students and getting it to their families in the language which they speak at home. Making sure families know there is a way of getting instruments through financial support/loaner instruments. There are some larger challenges such as scheduling. If an ensemble rehearses before school and students have a transportation need of taking a bus, then they cannot participate in the ensemble. We followed a cohort of students from 5th to 12th grade, and we found that after 5th grade, which is our beginning grade for band/orchestra, we didn’t get new instrumental students after that. Attrition is normal in an instrumental program, but we do not currently have a system that is truly accessible for students to change their mind after 5th grade and decide to take band or orchestra. That’s a pretty big deal. That’s not to say we are unable to fulfill the music opportunities for our students. Even in the midst of the pandemic, and because of this program evaluation, we were able to introduce guitar classes at the high school level where previously there were no elective opportunities outside the traditional ensembles. In my mind that was an immediate win/ Because of the data we collected, I was able to go to the administration and the board and say ‘we are not meeting the needs of students in our high school because if they are not choosing to be in an ensemble, then there’s nothing else for them to take in music. But they are telling us, because we surveyed them, that they want to take music.’ We were able to get the support and write the curriculum to start the class right away. There are many more examples of how this process helped. Some of it we were able to move on quickly and some of it was slowed or put on hold because of the pandemic and now we are getting back on track with those areas.

DA: As a newly appointed Board member at NJMAA, how can our Association work with those districts that do not have an arts person as their district arts program leaders on the work you presented to our membership?

Dr. B: Your question certainly brings to light some of the differences and inequities across the state that impact teachers and students in the arts, just in terms of the support and leadership structures. I think NJMAA could certainly have a role. What I see in NJMAA is that there is an invitation from the group for the arts leaders in a district to engage with us, regardless of if they come from a music background or not. Having virtual meetings, I think has increased the reach of our organization, and we do have members that wear multiple hats. This idea here, sharing through Tempo what we are talking about in our meetings and why, is helpful. Districts in New Jersey are all so very different, there is no ‘one size fits all’ model. All I did here is share an example of a framework that says, look at what you have, collect the data, some supporting research, some input from your stakeholders, and then create a plan for moving forward. Districts should already be doing this work as a part of their cycle of curriculum review. I didn’t invent this process; it was part of my district program evaluation process that is implemented across all content areas. Even in those districts where there is no arts supervisor, there are structures in place to ensure that curriculum is being reviewed on a regular basis. In the end it comes back to advocacy for the Arts and trying to make that heard across the state, trying to ensure that district leadership places value on carefully examining how their arts program is meeting the needs of their students. The change in the NJSLS should be an impetus for all districts to carefully review their Arts curriculum right now in a truly comprehensive way.

Dr. Laura Bassett Supervisor of Arts Education Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District