In 2004, the New York City Public Schools published Blueprints for Teaching and Learning in the Arts. These Blueprints are curriculum frameworks that lay out what NYC public school students should know, understand, and be able to do in dance, music, theater, and visual arts.
Building on the foundation of the Blueprints, in 2007, the New York City Public Schools launched ArtsCount. This initiative supports the collection of arts programming data from schools across the city, and results in both citywide and individual school reports that show how the schools are progressing towards offering quality arts education to all students. ArtsCount simultaneously increases accountability for schools in ensuring that each and every student is provided with high-quality, sequential arts learning and improves the transparency of the programming, which is an essential aspect of ensuring an equitable system.
Providing Technical Support for ArtsCount Survey
Metis has been working closely with the NYC Public Schools’ ArtsCount initiative since 2009. Our work includes close collaboration with the Arts Office on the design, administration, and data analysis of the survey, which goes to each of NYC’s approximately 1,600 public schools. We also develop and upload individual school reports, which provide important information about the schools’ arts offerings to parents, students, and other stakeholders; and create an annual Arts in Schools report, which provides information about the city’s overall progress toward arts accountability measures. Specifically, the reports provide key information in the following areas, among others:
- Student participation in the arts
- Arts teachers
- Space for the arts
- Partnerships with arts and cultural organizations
- Arts budgeting
Read the full 2024-2025 Arts in Schools Report [PDF].
ArtsCount Shines Light on Service Gaps
With each of the annual Arts in Schools Reports that have been published to date, it is clear that the city is demonstrating progress toward achieving equity and excellence in arts education, including:
- Increasingly robust budgets for arts programming
- Greater numbers of certified arts teachers in the city’s schools
- Consistent success in meeting high school New York State arts education requirements
It is equally clear that there remain areas for improvement that must be addressed going forward. Metis is proud to do its part to help New York City shine a light on gaps in providing sequential, high quality P-12 arts programming to every student in the nation’s largest school district.
Read the full five-year data trends report [PDF].
Database and Dashboard Development
Currently, Metis is working closely with Arts Office leadership to develop and launch an internal database that will enable Arts Office staff to conduct real-time filtering, disaggregating, and dynamic exploring of key metrics to support its continuous improvement and reporting functions. Additionally, Metis will create data visualizations, including a comprehensive dashboard that includes charts, maps, and tables to explore links between data elements.
This annual documentation effort shows how consistent survey research can track arts education access citywide. Explore our Arts Education & Engagement focus area or learn more about our survey research services.