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OUR MISSION

An all-women group photo of our Project Manager (Mayuri) and Director (Lauren) with two of our parters at Open Doors Kids. They are wearing white shirts that say "Artful Healing."

Arts Ed Newark is 100+ arts education stakeholders strong.

We are from public, charter and private schools. We are artists, arts & culture organizations, parents & teachers, youth & community development groups, businesses, funders, and government agencies. We come together because we believe in the power of arts education to transform young people and help them thrive.

 

Arts Ed Newark is an alliance of and for arts education champions. As a group, we advocate for high-quality arts ed equity for the whole city. We combine our voices from different sectors to demonstrate the connection between the arts and positive vision for Newark. Our alliance also provides capacity-building and resources for all of its parters. 

By leveraging combined experience, expertise and resources, we develop our skills to be good advocates within our own groups and as individuals.​

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Here’s how you can be an advocate - aka an Arts Ed Champion:

DID YOU KNOW?

State law requires every school district to provide sequential learning of dance, theater, music and visual arts for K-12.

 

The arts and arts education play a critical role in Newark's future.

  • Experiencing and creating art is essential to our humanity.

  • The arts stimulate expression, help us better understand our emotions, and help us empathize with others.

  • Arts education teaches focus, critical thinking and problem-solving in collaboration.

    • art education statistic
    Art education statistic
    art education statistic

    Image Credits: www.artsednj.org

    2020 Statistics for Newark Youth

    • 25% of Newark’s population are under the age of 18

    • 78% of Newark residents graduated from high school. 30% have earned a GED.

    • College graduation rate of 13%

    • 15% with a graduate or professional degree

    • 27% drop out rate from high school

    • Chronic absenteeism rates for black male students were more than 47%.

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    The Starting Point

    According to a 2020 report, “Newark Kids Count 2020,” the child population under 18 years old was 69,941 children in 2018. Given that data, combined with the Arts Ed New Jersey 2018 Arts Census, it is estimated that the majority of these children do not have access to a high quality arts education. 

     

    Our Platform

    We call for access to high-quality arts education for every Newark youth. We seek to:

    • Identify the number of youth who have access to arts education programs in and out of school citywide

    • Ensure quality of programs based on statewide standards as they emerge

    • Advocate for increased access and increased resources to deliver arts education in schools and in communities.

    • Build capacity among our members to be the best advocates we can be

    • Building collaboration among arts programs. Learning community in and of itself. Cross-learning.​

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