Arts programming in Boston schools linked to attendance, engagement gains

The May 10, 2021 CommonWealth Magazine article by Michael Jonas, “Arts programming in Boston schools linked to attendance, engagement gains”, highlights the recently published The Arts Advantage: Impacts of Arts Education on Boston Students research report affirming the effects of Arts Education and it's positive impacts on student engagement and student attendance particularly in a challenging year of remote learning. From the article:

> “A lot of the things that we measure in social science are proxies for a bundle of other things,” Kisida said. “So to see that attendance goes up doesn’t just tell me there are X number of more hours a student is in school. It tells me there’s an effect on the student’s mindset, they’re more engaged, they’re happier there. There are other things going on that are unmeasured, and whatever attendance is a proxy for is probably a more important thing.”

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> Those unmeasured things, say the researchers and EdVestors leaders, may be more important than ever as schools take on the challenge of reconnecting with students who may have gone a full year without being in school building or in face-to-face interactions with classmates or teachers.

Read the full article here.