Ravitch Pans ED Turnaround Arts Initiative

Public Radio International (5/8) describes ED's new Turnaround Arts Initiative, under which eight schools were selected "to receive $14.7 million over three years to integrate art, music, dance and theater into their curricula. ... While the program has attracted the support of celebrity artists including Chuck Close, Yo-Yo Ma, and Sarah Jessica Parker, not everyone is impressed." The piece quotes former ED official Diane Ravitch saying, "This is a teeny, tiny little band-aid on what is a giant, national, festering problem. And it doesn't begin to address the needs of the schools." Ravitch stated that standardized testing under NCLB has a stifling effect on creativity, and urged greater local funding for arts curriculum.