Why must all Learning in the Arts projects address the standards?
The essence of arts standards — what learners should know and be able to do in the arts — is about excellence in arts learning for children and youth. Learning in the Arts grants support and foster excellence in arts learning in both schools and communities. Arts standards do not spell out the specific content of the learning or the instructional methods of achieving the desired knowledge and skills. Those decisions are best left to the program and project designers — curriculum and instructional leaders, teachers of the arts, artists, parents, students, and others — who plan and implement arts learning in schools and community settings. The standards are general guideposts to assist project designers in helping our young people achieve excellence in the arts. That excellence is achieved when we provide all students, by their graduation from high school, with a solid foundation of knowledge and skills in arts.
