Arts Equity Champion

Resolution to Adopt the Declaration of the Rights of All Students to Equity in Arts Learning

WHEREAS, Elite Naach Academy acknowledges that arts learning – which includes dance, music, theatre, and visual and media arts – is an essential part of a comprehensive education for all students, pre-K-12, to prepare them for college, career and life.

WHEREAS, arts learning promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills, supports overall academic achievement and nurtures skills that help all students in Elite Naach Academy succeed in school and in life.

WHEREAS, Elite Naach Academy recognizes that particular groups of students experience significant barriers to access, participation and success in arts learning and that these barriers are directly linked to historical, persistent and pervasive inequities in our educational system.

WHEREAS, we do adopt this declaration as follows: 

Declaration of the Rights of All Students to Equity in Arts Learning

1. The right to equitable access to pre-K-12 free, coherent and sequential standards-based arts learning that is part of the core curriculum and that provides both integrated and discrete visual and performing arts learning opportunities; and the right to equitable outcomes as a result of this access, without distinction on account of race, culture, language, religion, national origin, geographical location or legal status.
   
   Every student has the right to participate and succeed in high-quality courses in all the arts disciplines as part of their basic education, regardless of their background, culture, language or place of residence. 
   

2. The right to special protection for every student’s artistic and aesthetic development. The right to protection from policies and practices that exclude or preclude certain students or populations from equitable access to and success in powerful and coherent arts learning pre-K-12.
   
   All students have the same right to fully develop their creative potential at every grade level and to not be excluded for any reason.
   

3. The right to arts learning that is culturally and linguistically responsive and relevant, with particular attention to those populations that have traditionally been excluded or precluded, such as English Learners, students of color, foster youth, homeless youth, students in poverty, migrant students and special needs students.
   
   All students have the right to engage in arts education that reflects, respects and builds on their culture, language and background.   
   

4. The right to arts learning programs in every school, district and community that are funded and supported with the necessary resources – including qualified administrators, teachers, teaching artists and other staff; adequate materials; and appropriate facilities – to support powerful culturally and linguistically responsive arts learning.
   
   All students have the right to receive the resources they need to be successful in their arts studies in dance, music, theatre, and media and visual arts, including the right supplies and facilities and especially qualified teachers and curriculum that honors all cultures and languages.
   

5. The right to educators, leaders and parents/community who are knowledgeable about the intrinsic and extrinsic benefits of arts learning for individual students, families/communities, the nation and global society.
   
   All students have the right to be supported by leaders in their community and school who understand the benefits of an arts education to prepare them for college, career and life. 
   

6. The right to be brought up in school and community environments that value and protect the arts and equity as essential to the full development of every student and that demonstrate those values/beliefs in their public policies and practices.
   
   All students have the right to learn and practice the arts in a positive environment where everyone understands and acts on the knowledge that they are engaging in valuable and important work.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Elite Naach Academy recognizes the powerful impact that an arts curriculum has in the cognitive and social development of students and its role as an essential component of a comprehensive education;

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Elite Naach Academy board of directors adopts this Declaration and commits to taking the following actions: 

• Post the Arts Equity Champion badge on the organization’s website and social media channels.

• Review our organization’s arts education programs to analyze how those programs support and encourage equity and access to arts education for every student.

• Use the California Arts Education Data Project findings to explore establishing a strategic arts plan that will help our organization effectively partner with school districts to achieve and fulfill the Declaration of the Rights of All Students to Equity in Arts Learning.

• Dedicate appropriate resources – such as utilizing academic materials that align with state standards, and partnering with school districts to implement their strategic arts plans that allow ALL students to participate in visual and performing arts learning.

• Promote arts learning that honors all cultures and languages by developing staff capacities, identifying community resources and creating opportunities for students to contribute to the design of their learning.

Adopted by the Elite Naach Academy

February 1, 2021