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Dan Jones Survey Affirms Strong Positive Impact of Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program on Utah Schools, Students
December 1, 2010
Fast Facts- In-depth interviews with principals across Utah highlight unique and significant improvements in academic performance, morale, behavior and
- Innovative elementary school arts education program, adopted by Utah legislature in 2008, integrates quality fine arts instruction into the
SALT LAKE CITY (December 1, 2010)—A survey recently completed by Dan Jones & Associates found that the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program (BTSALP), currently in the third year of a pilot project in more than 50 schools throughout Utah, is already having a profound positive impact for children in participating schools.
The Dan Jones & Associates study, commissioned by the grassroots advocacy organization Friends of Art Works for Kids, incorporated in-depth interviews with the principals of more than 50 Utah schools participating in the BTSALP pilot test program. Participating schools in the BTSLAP program are spread across the geographic and social economic spectrum — from affluent suburban areas to rural communities and schools that serve Title 1 inner-city populations.
The survey was designed to evaluate the BTSALP program’s effect on the overall quality of education in participating schools; principals’ perceptions of the impact of the program on improvements in the core subject areas of math, language arts, science and social studies, and in student attendance, discipline, civility and educational engagement; the relative difficulty schools experienced in establishing the program; and how it was received by students, parents and teachers.
After two years of implementation of this four-year pilot program, which was designed to measure increases in learning retention and ability in the core subjects, participating schools have already seen significant improvements, including the following findings:
• 100 percent of respondents reported that the effect of the program was either “definitely positive” (85 percent) or “probably positive” (15 percent).
One principal noted, “I had a student who…was in trouble all the time…The arts were a way to reach him…I saw a major change in his behavior.” Another described how the BTSALP engagement helped one child with borderline Asberger’s syndrome increased three grades in reading in a single year, while a principal in a school with a largely Spanish-speaking population reported that a BTSALP drama program “helped [ESL students] speak English,” as well as “how to use ideas without using English.”
• BTSALP engagement also had a positive impact on student performance and behavior in all areas:
o Math: 68 percent reported the program’s impact was positive. One principal noted that in one year, scores increased 20 percent among low-income students: “The arts play a big part in that. They significantly help the achievement gap…”
o Language Arts: 69 percent reported a positive impact.
o Other subject areas: 84 percent reported a positive impact.
o Principals also reported increases in self-esteem, confidence, social skills and civility, and decreases in negative aggression.
o Positive impact in both discipline and student attendance was reported by more than 70 percent of all principals. 86 percent reported that the BTSALP helped with student engagement, 73 percent said the program helped improve civility.
• In addition, principals reported that BTSALP arts specialists were received positively by 100 percent of students; 98 percent positive among parents; and 88 percent from core curriculum instructors.
About Friends of Art Works for Kids
Friends of Art Works for Kids (www.artworksforkids.org) is a grassroots initiative created to ensure that Utah’s school children receive the benefits of high-quality, integrated arts instruction through the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program. Using the Art Works for Kids teaching model, the program integrates art into the core curriculum, effectively increasing student performance in every subject—from language arts and social studies to math and science.
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Media Contacts
Jacob Moon
Friends of Art Works for Kids Public Relations
801.461-9797
jacob@methodcommunications.com
David Parkinson
Friends of Art Works for Kids Public Relations
801.461-9799
david@methodcommunications.com
