On February 16, 2011, the State Board of Education will take action on a DESE plan to change the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) and school accreditation practices. These changes have the potential to negatively impact the arts in our schools or their actions could strengthen the arts. We have the opportunity to ensure the arts are included in MSIP 5. (This acronym describes the fifth iteration, or cycle, of the review process that will take effect in 2013.)

Statement for the State Board of Education

As a member of the (fine arts association name here) I am writing to ask you to include a fine arts assessment in the Missouri Assessment Program as part of MSIP 5. I ask that you direct the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to include minimum levels of visual art and music instruction in elementary and middle/junior high schools as part of the Best Practices document.

Statement for the Missouri General Assembly

• include the fifth-grade fine arts assessment in the Missouri Assessment Program ( MAP) as part of the MSIP 5 Performance Standards, 
• include in a Best Practices document that each elementary school student shall receive instruction in art, music and physical education for a minimum of 50 minutes in each area each week (25 minutes for half-day kindergarten) taught by certified specialists in the appropriate discipline, and 
• include in a Best Practices document that each middle school/junior high school student shall receive 3,000 minutes of fine arts instruction per school year taught by certified specialists in the appropriate discipline.     

• adequately fund Missouri public schools at the level that that will make the rules of 161.209 unenforceable, and require DESE to enforce minimum requirements for schools to provide fine arts instruction and all of the other areas covered by the Resource and Process Standards, and

• take into consideration the unintended consequences of 161.209 including the impact a reduction in instruction in music, art and physical education has on educating the whole child.

• recognize the value of arts instruction in our schools as evidenced by the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education study,  Arts Education Makes a Difference in Missouri Schools.

^{Now, click on the next page Why Did We Develop these Messages? It is located on the Save Fine Arts in our Schools Tab.}