Each February, National Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month invites educators, families, and communities to spotlight the programs that prepare students for real-world careers. At its core, CTE is about helping students see how what they learn today connects to the opportunities they will pursue tomorrow. That mission mirrors ArtsNOW’s work in classrooms every day.

Through arts-integrated instruction, ArtsNOW helps students connect academic learning to creative thinking, problem-solving. These are essential soft skills in every career pathway. As CTE Month highlights workforce readiness, ArtsNOW expands the lens, showing teachers, students, and families that creativity is a core career competency.

That belief is at the heart of our newest resource, Where Creativity Meets Career, a guide that explores 175+ career opportunities across all art forms and connects them directly to skills students need to thrive in today’s economy. Discover the full guide here.

Where Creativity Meets Career is designed to be practical, accessible, and actionable. Whether you’re an educator guiding students, a school leader shaping pathways, or an advocate championing workforce development, this guide provides concrete examples of how creativity and career readiness intersect.

During National Career and Technical Education Month, we invite you to explore the guide, share it with your community, and help expand the conversation around what it truly means to prepare students for the future. Take a look at the guide and start exploring possibilities.

Schools that partner with ArtsNOW see instruction connect more clearly to real-world pathways, higher student engagement, and measurable academic gains across disciplines. If your school is ready to help students explore careers, strengthen STEAM learning, and see the arts as a gateway to future opportunity, ArtsNOW is positioned to support that work. Connect with us to learn how to get started.

A National Literacy Challenge

Across the United States, literacy rates remain a significant concern. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only about one-third of fourth-grade students read at or above a proficient level.

In Georgia, 62% of third-grade students and 69% of 8th graders are not reading at a proficient level. Nearly one million adults lack basic literacy skills (Georgia Municipal Association). In South Carolina, nearly 40% of students in grades 3-8 remain below proficient (South Carolina Department of Education).

This is putting students and families at a structural disadvantage from the start. Because third-grade reading is the pivot point from “learning to read” to “reading to learn,” those who fall behind face sharply higher risks of dropping out, unemployment, and poverty.

The need for innovative strategies that drive measurable gains in reading and language skills has never been greater, and ArtsNOW is at the forefront, delivering proven literacy improvements through our evidence-based arts integration model.

ArtsNOW’s Approach to Strengthening Literacy

ArtsNOW offers teacher professional learning designed to improve educational outcomes through arts integration. Through an ongoing, research-based approach, ArtsNOW partners with schools to integrate the arts across all grades and content areas. Our sustained professional learning equips teachers to deliver strong literacy instruction. Evidence from ArtsNOW partner schools shows that students consistently perform at higher academic levels when learning through arts integration.

To deliver this model effectively, ArtsNOW provides a mix of seminars, professional learning experiences, and personalized digital coaching sessions led by expert ArtsNOW Consultants. Every school is unique, and our approach reflects that. ArtsNOW works alongside school teams to design a fully customized plan that builds lasting capacity for arts integration in each school.

These practices are strengthened by literary resources that extend learning beyond the school day. ArtsNOW has distributed thousands of engaging books paired with Creativity Task Cards that provide support for families at home through the Reimagining and Accelerating Learning through Arts Integration (REALAI) federal grant and SmART Literacy initiative. Through other grant funding, we have provided books to classroom libraries and media centers to support literacy development. These approaches strengthen comprehension, vocabulary, and confidence while deepening literacy skills.

This impact would not be possible without strategic investments from our supporters, including the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation, Lewis H. Beck Educational Foundation, and U.S. Department of Education.

Evidence of Literacy Growth Across Partner Schools

Through the REALAI federal grant, ArtsNOW supports more than 2,700 students and 170 educators across six schools in Georgia and South Carolina.

State English Language Arts assessments offer a clear benchmark for literacy progress beginning in third grade, tracking scale scores and performance levels over time. REALAI schools, in particular, have demonstrated outsized growth.

• The U.S. Department of Education sets a 30% year-over-year improvement target for participating fourth graders. In 2024, REALAI schools more than doubled that benchmark: 78% of fourth graders improved their scale scores. Longitudinal analysis shows nearly a 10-point gain in reading proficiency from 2022 to 2024.
• At J.C. Lynch Elementary, third-grade ELA scores surged 36% in a single year, outpacing the state average by 15 percentage points.
• Forest Hills and Cottageville Elementary advanced from “Below Average” to “Average” on their state report cards, while teacher confidence in using arts integration jumped 24%.
• Across all REALAI schools, the share of third- through fifth-grade students meeting or exceeding expectations rose from 26.5% in 2022 to 31.9% in 2024, providing promising evidence of the impact of arts integration on students’ reading achievement.

“Since partnering with ArtsNOW, we’ve seen teaching and learning at J.C. Lynch Elementary transform in meaningful ways. The growth in our literacy scores reflects not just improved skills, but the confidence and creativity our students bring to the classroom each day,” said J.C. Lynch Elementary Principal T.J. DeVine. “When the arts are woven into instruction, our students don’t just read the story; they experience it. ArtsNOW has been a blessing to our school and is a proven key to our success!”

Additional partner schools show the same trend.

• Powder Springs Elementary posted a 15% increase in third-grade ELA performance, nearly double the gains seen in a matched comparison school.
• At Angel Oak Elementary, the percentage of students reading at grade level climbed from 60% to 74% over five years, with ELA proficiency increasing 17%.
• Within the Cobb County KickstART Initiative, 97% of English Learners in ArtsNOW-supported schools improved language proficiency in a single year, significantly outperforming similar schools at 74%.

When looked at together, these results deliver a clear message: literacy achievement rises when schools integrate the arts with intention and fidelity. ArtsNOW works alongside your school to design a fully customized plan that is practical, evidence-focused, and builds lasting capacity for arts integration.

Why ArtsNOW’s Approach Works

When students learn through dance, music, theatre, and visual arts, they engage with content on a deeper level. Arts integration also strengthens retention and academic performance, creating a skill transfer that shows up across subjects. ArtsNOW invests in educators through coaching, modeling, and sustained support, showing teachers how they can build a toolbox of strategies they can deploy year after year. This consistent support is a major driver of the gains partner schools report.

In addition, direct access to books reinforces the work happening inside the classroom. When families receive engaging books and take-home Creativity Task Cards, literacy becomes part of the home environment. This increases vocabulary exposure, boosts family engagement, and strengthens comprehension through repeated interaction with text.

By combining arts integration, teacher support, and access to books in the broader community, our model fuels lasting literacy gains over multiple years. This innovative approach has earned ArtsNOW recognition as a Learn4Life Bright Spot for Early Literacy, demonstrating alignment with district goals and tangible student results.

As Cottageville Elementary Principal Tasheena Allen noted, “ArtsNOW has transformed our literacy block into a space where confidence grows, imagination leads, and every child sees themselves as a reader. When students learn through the arts, their reading mastery deepens and their love for reading shines.”

Schools that partner with ArtsNOW see instruction come alive, higher student engagement, and measurable academic gains. If your school is ready to elevate literacy performance, we’re positioned to help you launch that transformation. Connect with us to learn how to get started!

For supporters who share our belief that every student deserves learning that sparks curiosity and drives achievement, your investment accelerates this mission. If you believe every student deserves learning that truly comes to life, your investment fuels the work that gets us there. Supporting ArtsNOW, at any level, helps more classrooms unlock the literacy outcomes students deserve.

At ArtsNOW, we believe every student deserves the chance to learn in ways that combine knowledge with creativity. Across the country, many people are familiar with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education as a way to prepare students for a fast-changing, technology-driven world.

But, when we add the “A” for Arts to create STEAM, what difference does it make?

STEM: The “How It Works” Approach

STEM provides a strong foundation in science, technology, engineering, and math. Students gain tools to solve problems, analyze data, and apply evidence-based reasoning. For example, they might build a weather balloon and study the data it collects.

STEAM: The “How We Innovate” Approach

STEAM takes everything valuable about STEM and adds creativity, design, and human-centered thinking. By integrating the arts, STEAM invites students to imagine new possibilities, communicate ideas effectively, and work collaboratively.

In practice, that same weather balloon project might expand to include designing the balloon’s look, creating a presentation about the mission, and producing a video to share results. This version of the project teaches innovation alongside technical knowledge.

Whether a student is drawn to coding, experiments, or problem-solving, or thrives through artistic expression, collaboration, and imagining new possibilities, STEAM benefits every type of learner. By blending hands-on discovery with creativity, students of all interests can explore, innovate, and grow through STEAM.

The Design Connection

Both STEM and STEAM use the Engineering Design Process, a cycle of imagining, planning, creating, testing, and improving. This mirrors the way artists refine their work through sketches, drafts, or rehearsals.

Adding the arts shows students that problem-solving and creativity follow the same process: try, reflect, revise, and grow.

Why It Matters

For educators: STEAM offers multiple entry points for diverse learners, ensuring that both logical and creative thinkers are engaged.

For families: STEAM can reveal hidden strengths in children, whether that’s persistence in problem-solving or confidence in creative expression.

For community and business leaders: STEAM prepares future leaders with the ability to innovate, collaborate, and adapt. These skills are essential to every profession.

Key Takeaways

Both STEM and STEAM equip students for the future through hands-on, real-world learning.

The arts transform education into a dynamic, engaging, and human-centered experience. By blending creativity with academic knowledge, arts integration brings  the “A” into STEAM and helps students think critically, communicate effectively, and solve problems in innovative ways. They provide a foundation of soft skills, like collaboration, empathy, and adaptability, that are just as important as technical expertise in today’s rapidly changing world.

At ArtsNOW, we see STEAM as a powerful way to prepare young minds for the future, equipping them with the ability to innovate, adapt, and create in a world that demands both knowledge and creativity.

ArtsNOW offers professional learning opportunities for educators that provide engaging STEAM strategies directly aligned to content standards! Connect with us to learn how to get started.

Your donation can make a direct impact on bringing STEAM to life for a student. You can send a student to STEAM Saturday or Summer Camp, provide a hands-on learning kit, or an experience for a classroom. Explore our Impact Catalog to see the many ways your support can spark curiosity and creativity.

ArtsNOW loved the feature from Atlanta Parent Magazine called “ARTlanta: A Hub for Creativity and Learning.” ArtsNOW President and CEO Pamela Walker was featured throughout the article, sharing the relevance and impact of arts-integrated learning for all students. She also showed how the arts are a foundation for soft skills, such as critical thinking and collaboration. 

Click here to read the article.

As we reflect on a year of growth and creativity, we’re deeply grateful for your support. If you’re making end-of-year giving decisions, we hope you’ll consider ArtsNOW among your final gifts this season.

As the year comes to a close, it’s time to embrace the spirit of generosity and make a meaningful impact through end-of-year giving. This period is ideal for individuals, families, and businesses to give back to causes they care about deeply. This is a powerful time for nonprofits, with nearly one-third of giving happening in December across the entire sector.

No matter how you choose to give to ArtsNOW, each gift translates into hands-on arts experiences, teacher support, and resources that help students build creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration skills.

Why Year-End Giving Matters

Across the country, year-end generosity sustains nonprofits. For many organizations, December donations account for 30-40% of one-time online gifts. That surge funds immediate needs and helps set the stage for the year ahead.

At ArtsNOW, your end-of-year gift ensures that young minds have access to arts-integrated learning. It also gives us the momentum to start the new year strong and ready to bring innovative arts experiences into more classrooms.

Tax Benefits of Giving Before December 31

Timing matters. To receive a charitable tax deduction for the year, donations must be made on or before December 31. Online gifts are the fastest way to ensure your gift is processed on time.

If you’re giving through a donor-advised fund or stock transfer, plan ahead as these methods can take extra time to complete. By making your gift before the deadline, you may be eligible for certain tax advantages while also fueling work that directly impacts students. We encourage you to consult your financial advisor or financial institution to understand how giving may benefit your personal situation.

What Your Gift Makes Possible

Every contribution, no matter the size, drives real impact. With our Impact Catalog, you have the power to choose the impact you want to make. Each gift in the catalog is an opportunity to give with purpose.  There are opportunities at every level to spark imagination and innovation. No matter the size, your gift helps ignite a lifelong love of learning and the arts.

• Inspire Students - Every gift to ArtsNOW fuels creativity and learning. Your support reaches students directly through arts-integrated experiences and empowers teachers to inspire them in lasting ways. We invite you to make a difference in students’ lives, just as the arts may have shaped your own.
• Empower Educators - You can help empower educators to teach in ways that reach every learner. Whether through hands-on workshops, school-based coaching, or collaborative planning sessions, your gift fuels professional learning that transforms classrooms.
• Enrich Classrooms - Materials and supplies make a difference by turning ideas into experiences and lessons into lasting memories. You hold the power to put high-quality tools directly into the hands of students and teachers. From arts-integrated classroom kits to supply grants, your gift helps create learning environments where imagination, exploration, and expression are part of every day.

Your generosity ensures that classrooms remain places where creativity thrives and students are prepared with the skills they need for the future.

Giving That Works

When you choose to make a year-end gift to ArtsNOW, you join a community of donors across the nation who step up in December to make the biggest difference.

Together, we can close the year with strength and open the next one with promise.

How to Give

• Online: Make a fast, secure gift through our website by December 31. One-time, monthly, and annual options are available.
• Impact Giving: View our 2025 Impact Catalog here and choose a gift that speaks to you. To request a print version of the catalog, please email [email protected].
• By Mail: Send a check dated by December 31 to 2905 Premiere Parkway, Suite 125, Duluth, GA 30097.
• Donor-Advised Fund, Qualified Contribution, or Stock Gift: Contact your fund manager or broker soon to meet year-end processing deadlines.

Make a Lasting Impact with ArtsNOW

End-of-year giving is a way to directly shape the opportunities students have in their classrooms. By giving today, you’re ensuring that creativity, equity, and innovation remain at the heart of education.

Join us before December 31 and help transform learning through the power of the arts.

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