A case study: a school's commitment to retaining the arts

Recently California’s public schools have narrowed the curriculum due to a focus on mandated accountability measures and budget constraints. As a result, arts education seems to be one of the major areas that has been neglected. The purpose of the study was to examine a school that has maintained arts education as a priority within their instructional time, while managing other demands that have emerged from the mandated accountability measures and budget constraints. This study will examine why are the arts important to the students, how is funding for the arts addressed, how the school has retained the arts as a priority, and what is the impact the arts has on academic achievement and the culture of the school. The research design of this study was a qualitative case study of a high performing arts magnet school in an urban area. A multi-method approach using qualitative research methods of data collection was used for this case study. Triangulation of the data from documents reviews; surveys, interviews, and observation were used to increase the validity and the reliability of this study. Four major themes emerged from this study. Strong leadership support for the arts, a longstanding tradition and passion for the arts, strong community support and parental involvement, and collaboration within the school and with outside stakeholders were all indicators of a shared commitment to the arts and the students. The four themes identified all tied in together and intertwined to create the culture of the school showing their dedication and passion for the arts and educating their students effectively through the arts.