Arts-rich S.C. schools score above national mean in hope, engagement
Gallup research in 2018 shows arts’ impact on key indicators
This morning at the South Carolina Arts Advocacy Day breakfast, S.C. Arts Commission Education Director Ashley Brown released exciting new findings from a 2018 study that found high levels of engagement and hope in arts-rich South Carolina schools.
The
S.C. Arts Commission (SCAC) and
Palmetto State Arts Education (PSAE) partnered with internationally recognized analytics firm
Gallup to participate in the annual Gallup Student Poll. It measures student
engagement,
hope,
entrepreneurial aspirations, and
career and financial literacy and, in the past 10 years, surveyed more than 6 million students. According to Gallup data from 2016, engaged and hopeful students are more than twice as likely to report they get excellent grades and are twice less likely to report they missed a lot of school than their actively disengaged peers.
In each of the four indicators on the poll, the students in South Carolina’s arts-rich schools outperformed the national mean. The research also showed a direct correlation between a school’s length of time as a arts-rich and an increase in student engagement and hope. And most importantly, students surveyed in arts-rich schools with free/reduced lunch program participation of 75% or greater scored higher than the state and national mean.
Brown said schools are considered arts-rich when they are “committed to the arts at the cellular level.” She said both Arts in Basic Curriculum (ABC) Project and Distinguished Arts Program (DAP) sites are required to have an arts strategic plan and, in both, the arts “are simply part of the fabric of the school.” SCAC and PSAE conducted the Gallup Student poll in arts-rich schools throughout South Carolina at a mixture of ABC Project and DAP sites.
“
This is the first time in its history the Gallup student poll has been used to look specifically at arts-rich environments, and it is an exciting opportunity to learn more about the connection between the arts and engagement,” Brown said.
The items on the Gallup Student Poll where students from
S.C. arts-rich schools scored the highest above the national mean are:
- The adults at my school care about me
- I have at least one teacher who makes me feel excited about the future
- I have a great future ahead of me
- I know I will find a good job in the future
- I will invent something that changes the world
- I plan to start my own business
The arts are integral to a well-rounded education that allows students to achieve the knowledge, skills, and life and career characteristics outlined in the
Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. From creativity to problem solving, perseverance to critical thinking, learning in and through the arts is proven to equip students with the skills necessary to be engaged citizens.
ABC Project and SC Arts Alliance submitted amendments and adjustments to H.3759, proposed by House Speaker
Jay Lucas (R-Darlington) and currently working its way through the S.C. House committee on education and public works, to ensure the arts are embraced and advanced to help every student achieve the standards set in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.
The findings from the Gallup Student Poll reinforce what those in the arts already know: From creativity to problem solving, critical thinking to perseverance, learning in and through the arts supports students as engaged and hopeful citizens of the world. This information will inform requests for additional funding in the arts, arts advocacy, and the role of the arts in education reform.
This PDF of the findings from the Gallup Student Poll can be shared with community and education leaders, legislators, and educators.
To learn more about this important research, visit
https://www.palmettoartsed.org/gallup.html.
Though far from the only thing, grants are certainly among the main things we do here. And because of their importance in our work, and what they mean to so many of you, The Hub wants to help keep Arts Commission grants top-of-mind and reduce the instances of people telling us, "If only we'd known about X grant!" We can't reach everybody, but we can try. On Mondays with deadlines on the horizon, "Grants Roundup" highlights first what grants are due that week and then includes what's coming later in increments.
This week
The institute was sponsored by the S.C. African American Heritage Commission (SCAAHC), whose mission is to identify and promote the preservation of historic sites, structures, buildings, and culture of the African American experience in South Carolina and to assist and enhance the efforts of the S.C. Department of Archives and History.
“The five-day Summer Institute’s purpose was to provide teachers with additional resources they can use to enhance their teaching of the state’s history that reflects African American heritage,” said Jannie Harriot, vice chair of SCAAHC and executive director of its fundraising arm, the S.C. African American Heritage Foundation (SCAAHF).
“The ... institute [helps] teachers create lesson plans for grades K-12 based on the public school desegregation lawsuits in Darlington and Clarendon counties: Stanley v. the Darlington County Board of Education and Briggs v. Elliot, respectively,” Harriot said. “So, we applied to the S.C. Arts Commission for a grant to conduct this institute and to bring teachers together to write the plans.”
Wallace Foxworth is an eighth-grade social studies instructor who teaches South Carolina history at Johnakin Middle School in Marion. He said the institute expanded his understanding of how school desegregation happened. Meeting people involved with those cases, such as Nathaniel Briggs, the son of Harry Briggs, Sr., lead plaintiff in Briggs v. Elliott, and Joseph DeLaine, Jr., whose father was also involved in the case was inspirational.
“I wanted to gain a better view of what is out there beside what we find in the textbooks,” Foxworth said. “The textbooks have a certain slant on history, and sometimes the slant is misguided concerning the contributions of African Americans in history. To be a more effective history teacher and bring more balance to history, this is something I feel is necessary.”
In addition to learning about the school desegregation cases, institute participants also learned about other facets of South Carolina African American history that they can incorporate into lesson plans. Mary Hoyt, a music teacher who teaches strings to fifth- and sixth-grade students at Chapin Intermediate School in Chapin said that she already has some ideas about how to incorporate information she learned about jazz great and Cheraw native Dizzy Gillespie into lesson plans.
“I just love history,” Hoyt said. “I am not from South Carolina and I find South Carolina to be a fascinating place with so many layers of history. I welcome the chance to learn more and enrich my classroom for my students. I feel privileged to be here.”
The teachers will submit 20 lesson plans that will go into a teacher’s guide that the S.C. Department of Education will disseminate across the state for teachers to use in their classrooms, Harriot said.
Teachers who participated in the institute included Jasmine Govan, Stephanie Gold, and Kay Ingram of Richland District 1; Melinda Hanna, Allison Geddings, Joceline Murdock, and Ashley Rogers of Darlington County School District; Andrea Walker from Allendale County Schools; Wallace Foxworth from Marion County Schools; Amy Robinson of the Beaufort School District; Mary Hoyt, Lexington/Richland School District Five; Tracy Carter, Lisa Hyman, and Michael Jenkins from Florence District 1; Wonda Hilliard of Greenville County Schools; Brian Day of Calhoun County Schools; Barbara Bodison from Berkeley County Schools; Coastal Carolina University English Professor Dr. Veronica Gerald; South Carolina State University student Enifinette; and retired educator Patricia Evans Hall.
Institute presenters included:
One such example is Cane Bay Elementary School in Summerville, which received a $9,730 grant to become an 
Last week, the South Carolina Senate