New Mexico Announces New Statewide Arts Education Standards

New Mexico has adopted the National Core Arts Standards which will ensure that public school students in grades K-12 have an opportunity to study at least one of five disciplines: dance, music, theater, visual arts, and media.

The change will also let educators teaching other subjects to weave those art elements into core classes, including math, reading, and social studies, announced Christopher Ruszkowski, New Mexico Public Education Secretary-designate.

A coalition of some 100 arts educators from around the US, supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Americans for the Arts, and the National Guild for Community Arts Education, developed the standards over several years and since 2014, at least 15 states have adopted them.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports “the changes come as advocates increasingly tout the importance of arts on child development, while a heavier focus on math, reading, and science have led many public school systems across the nation to cut back on their art programs.”

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