National Arts in Education Week 2026: Why the Arts Belong in Every Classroom

The students sitting in today’s classrooms will enter a world that demands flexibility, creativity, and strong problem-solving skills.

The arts help students build those capacities.

For more than two decades, ArtsNOW has worked alongside educators and schools to make creativity an essential part of learning. Through arts integration, educators connect the arts with academic standards in ways that make learning more active, meaningful, and memorable for students.

What the evidence tells us

A 2025 evaluation conducted by the University of South Carolina’s Research, Evaluation, and Measurement Center across ArtsNOW partner schools found:

• 95% of educators reported increased student engagement.
• 92% reported improvement in students’ understanding of academic concepts.
• 81% said they were more likely to remain in the profession.

We see those outcomes reflected in individual school communities, too.

At J.C. Lynch Elementary School in South Carolina, third-grade English language arts performance increased by 36 percentage points in one year during the school’s work with ArtsNOW.

Through ArtsNOW’s federally funded literacy work, 78% of participating fourth graders improved their reading scale scores, far surpassing the project’s federal benchmark of 30%.

These findings show what is possible when students are actively engaged in learning and educators have the tools and support to teach creatively.

Every student deserves access

Every student deserves access to the kind of learning these findings make possible, regardless of ZIP code, school resources, or local funding capacity.

Making that possible takes all of us. School and district leaders who invest in creative learning. Policymakers who champion access. Families and community members who speak up. Partners and funders who help schools build lasting capacity.

Put the evidence into action

This National Arts in Education Week, help us put the evidence in more hands.

Join ArtsNOW on October 13 for a live virtual Research Briefing where we’ll unpack the findings, connect the research to what is happening in classrooms, and explore what the evidence means for students, educators, and school communities.

You can also download our Arts Integration Evidence Brief and share it with a school leader, policymaker, funder, colleague, or community partner.

Download the Arts Integration Evidence Brief

Start with one person. Share the evidence. Invite them to join you October 13. Help build a future where creative learning is part of every student’s education.

Want to help expand access to creative learning? Support ArtsNOW’s work.