Article It Takes a Village: Parent Volunteers
Learn how parent volunteers can contribute to the learning environment with the right goal-oriented guidelines.
A microphone posed on a podium
Speak Up for the Arts
Helping parents become advocates for arts education.
Lesson Content
How can you get the parents in your school community involved and active in your school’s arts programs? Start by sharing with them the information you want them to share with others in your school building, district, or community. Parents are the first to care about the quality of their child’s education. Students need access to the best educational experiences and to have qualified teachers in the classroom.
Advocacy is simply sharing a moving arts education story with a decision-maker that will have a strong impact. This is not difficult work, but it does take some time to develop relationships with decision-makers. Here are some steps to help you develop parents into arts advocates.
Facts for Your Parents
The arts play a critical role in quality education. Research shows that arts education:
- fosters creativity and innovative thinking.
- helps students communicate a variety of messages.
- improves student achievement in other disciplines.
- advances problem-solving and cognitive skills.
- enhances cultural understanding.
- increases attendance and graduation rates.
Easy First Action Steps for Parents
Encourage parents to start with advocacy they are comfortable with. Have parents think about why the arts are important to their own child.
- Share their support of arts education with family and friends.
- Keep on top of the latest arts education research, policies, or practices.
- Send copies of arts education articles to district administrators and legislators.
- Recruit others to advocate for the arts.
Next Steps for More Experienced Advocates
Parents who are passionate about their children’s arts education will be your front line to administrators and legislators. Share with them information about state arts advocacy or arts education organizations. See if you can advance your parents down the advocacy continuum.
- Meet with school board members and legislators to talk about the importance of the arts in education.
- Write letters and articles for the local newspaper about arts education.
- Join an advocacy network for the arts and respond to action alerts.
- Develop relationships with school administrators and legislators.
An impassioned parent can be the difference between a well-funded arts department, and a teacher scrounging for supplies. They are one of your strongest tools in this fight. Make sure to help them wherever you can, and let their advocacy build your department!
-
Writer
Lauren Hess
-
Producer
Joanna McKee
-
Published
September 11, 2019
-
Sources
Article Arts Education: Making the Case With Legislators
Educators offer voter- and data-driven advocacy to build relationships with legislators and advocate for the arts.
Article Reaching Out to School Board Members
Use these tips to connect with school board members in meaningful ways to ensure they make arts education a priority.
Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning
Eric Friedman
Director, Digital Learning
Kenny Neal
Manager, Digital Education Resources
Tiffany A. Bryant
Manager, Operations and Audience Engagement
JoDee Scissors
Content Specialist, Digital Learning
Connect with us!
Generous support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education. The content of these programs may have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education but does not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the federal government.
Gifts and grants to educational programs at the Kennedy Center are provided by A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation; Annenberg Foundation; the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Bank of America; Bender Foundation, Inc.; Capital One; Carter and Melissa Cafritz Trust; Carnegie Corporation of New York; DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities; Estée Lauder; Exelon; Flocabulary; Harman Family Foundation; The Hearst Foundations; the Herb Alpert Foundation; the Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; the Kimsey Endowment; The King-White Family Foundation and Dr. J. Douglas White; Laird Norton Family Foundation; Little Kids Rock; Lois and Richard England Family Foundation; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Morningstar Foundation;
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Music Theatre International; Myra and Leura Younker Endowment Fund; the National Endowment for the Arts; Newman’s Own Foundation; Nordstrom; Park Foundation, Inc.; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives; Prince Charitable Trusts; Soundtrap; The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust; Rosemary Kennedy Education Fund; The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates; UnitedHealth Group; The Victory Foundation; The Volgenau Foundation; Volkswagen Group of America; Dennis & Phyllis Washington; and Wells Fargo. Additional support is provided by the National Committee for the Performing Arts.
Social perspectives and language used to describe diverse cultures, identities, experiences, and historical context or significance may have changed since this resource was produced. Kennedy Center Education is committed to reviewing and updating our content to address these changes. If you have specific feedback, recommendations, or concerns, please contact us at [email protected].