Kennedy Center’s Community Arts Audit
In 2006, the Arts|Learning Advocacy Group (formerly the Massachusetts Alliance for Arts Education–MAAE) and the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) participated in the Partnership Project to assist several school districts (Attleboro, Bridgewater-Raynham, Fitchburg, and New Bedford) in conducting the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network (KCAAEN) Community Audit for Arts Education.
The primary goal of the audit process was to give these communities the tools to meet their needs to develop active community support for arts education.
Project objectives included:
- Building a network of support for arts education in Massachusetts,
- Providing a model for district reform,
- Developing detailed 5-year strategic plans for placing arts education at the core of the curriculum in each participating district, and
- Shaping a strategy for implementation of the plans and create community arts education advisory committees in each community to help implement the plan.
Results for audit districts and communities has included:
- Strengthened networks of support for arts education;
- Deeper engagement of school administrators and the broader community in a data-driven examination of the state of arts education;
- Better informed advisory committee members and administrators on arts education challenges and successes;
- More focused attention on arts education programming and resources in schools by community members, including students and parents.
Learn about A|L’s Arts Education Leadership Toolkit.