COMING ATTRACTIONS

A national coalition has been formed to improve the “devastated” state of arts education in public schools, it was announced at a recent national arts conference in New Brunswick, N.J. The National Coalition for Education and the Arts, which will be made up of educators, will make recommendations to the next Administration regarding arts curricula. According to the coalition, high school arts courses are frequently taught by teachers who do not have a background in the arts, and art classes are often optional courses in high schools. The group urges that high schools require at least two courses in music, art, theater, dance or creative writing, and that an arts course should also be a requirement for admission to colleges and universities.