| Given the current No Child Left Behind accountability measures, there exists a requirement for K-12 public schools to ensure student proficiency on standardized tests. The demands have often resulted in a narrowed curriculum, placing heavy emphasis on tested courses and minimal access to quality arts education. The purpose of the study was to examine a secondary institution that has successfully maintained arts education as a priority via instructional minutes, while managing other demands that have emerged from mandated accountability measures and budget constraints. The qualitative design guided the methodology and identified research methods to study a school's best practices, strategies and overall success through the arts. The purpose of using a qualitative case study approach in this study was to provide detailed descriptions, and develop an understanding of a high quality arts program through research and data. There were four instruments (data collection, surveys, interviews, and observations) used to gather relevant information. Findings in this study provided evidence that with strong leadership support, collaboration, and a school wide team effort, retaining a successful arts program, despite given situations is attainable. An educational entity should be a place for all students to learn, grow and develop. This study indicates that that although the connection between arts and school success may be hard to measure, it provides students an opportunity to achieve success academically, emotionally, and socially, helping to create a path for future endeavors. |
