ARTS RISING
Working with the Philadelphia Education Fund, WolfBrown conducted a three-year evaluation of ArtsRising. ArtsRising was founded in 2007 as a regional initiative designed to expand and strengthen arts learning opportunities throughout the Philadelphia area. It began as a partnership between the Philadelphia Education Fund, the Fleisher Art Memorial, and Public Citizens for Children and Youth. Its initial vision was of a city and region comprised of ArtsZones: vibrant neighborhood networks of hub and feeder schools working hand-in-hand with community partners including arts organizations, businesses, faith-based organizations, community centers, and youth and development organizations to accomplish five strategic goals:
- To increase arts offerings in Philadelphia-area schools
- To increase arts offerings in Philadelphia-area communities (ArtsZones)
- To improve the quality of arts offerings in these schools and communities
- To effect change in the School District of Philadelphia’s (SDP) policies as they relate to the arts and arts education
- To positively influence outcomes for Philadelphia-area students in domains beyond the arts
In the context of this project, WolfBrown developed a portfolio of tools designed to track the robustness of arts learning in a school or neighborhood: 1) a census for opportunities available in schools and in neighborhoods; 2) a survey examining students’ current and desired arts activities; and 3) a survey to gauge the level of cultural engagement among families and caregivers. Taken together, these tools proved effective at establishing baseline data and indexing change against that baseline. These tools could prove useful to communities and districts eager to build stronger systems of arts education.
Consultants: Dr. Dennie Palmer Wolf, Steven Holochwost
Year Complete: 2012