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According to the National Endowment for the Arts and data from Chorus America, choral singing is the most popular form of participation in the performing arts; however, opportunities to participate in a school choir are declining. The arts are getting slashed from many schools as we become myopically focused on reading and math in this budget-crunched time.

To help schools avoid this fate for programs in their communities, earlier this week, Chorus America released a free advocacy guide schools can use in making a case for choral arts programs. From a pragmatic standpoint, as the American economy increasingly becomes more service-oriented, and creativity-driven, it makes sense to emphasize the arts in schools. From a motivating standpoint, courses and programs that actively engage students and offer some bonafide entertainment make school a lot more pleasurable for students, and provide them with something to look forward to. A Chorus Impact Study reported that 90% of educators believe choral singing can keep some students engaged in school who might otherwise lose interest and/or drop out.

Arts integration in schools is not a pie in the sky dream: arts used to be a much bigger focus in American schools. Dana Gioia, former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, recounted at a Commencement address to Stanford University: “I am just old enough to remember a time when every public high school in this country had a music program with choir and band, usually a jazz band, too, sometimes even an orchestra. And every high school offered a drama program, sometimes with dance instruction. And there were writing opportunities in the school paper and literary magazine, as well as studio art training.” He went on to note that art has become an expendable luxury, “and 50 million students have paid the price. Today a child’s access to arts education is largely a function of his or her parents’ income.” This chorus advocacy guide makes it easier for teachers, parents, and other persons connected to schools to successfully pitch chorus to school administrators and make efforts in reducing the effect of income disparity in arts access.  

The guide includes advice on promoting the positive impact of a choral music program (including data and quotes from notable sources illustrating the value of singing for children), suggestions on how to reach potential community collaborators and how to build relationships with these partners, ideas for working with your school administration, and strategies for making performances advocacy opportunities.