According to an article printed in the San Francisco Chronicle, titled “Stanford Study Links Art Classes to Academic Achievement,” (researched by Stanford professor Shirley Brice Heath who is also a senior scholar at the Carnegie foundation for the Advancement of Teaching) students who participate in after-school art programs are “more likely to win academic awards and achievements.” The article also stated that research has shown that children who partake in the arts, tend to use, and therefore develop, more advanced linguistic and cognitive thinking skills. This includes long-term planning, as well as critiquing and focused attention, which has both social and academic benefits.
This research also found four major benefits for after-school arts. First, students are four times more likely to win an academic award. Secondly, they are eight times more likely to receive a community service award. Third, they are three times more likely to win a school attendance award and lastly, they are four times more likely to participate in a math or science fair.
When comparing students who took the SAT, studies found that those who “studied the arts for more than four years scored higher than students who did not. The scores were 59 points higher on the verbal section and 44 points higher in the math.”
Even with these staggering findings, most students do not participate in weekly arts programs. Also, it is art education that is the first to go when there is a budget cut in schools because it is an “expendable frill.” Today, most unfortunately, only one in four students in the United States has the opportunity to participate in some form of art activity.
For more information about KidsArt classes and workshops, or to schedule a free introductory class, call 661-260-1774 or email us: kidsartvalencia@sbcglobal.net. To see our students’ artwork and to get detailed information about our programs, please visit us on the web at www.kidsartclasses.com.