Arts For Learning NW

We talk a lot about test scores.

But what about this: students in arts-integrated schools showed an 8% increase in compassion for others.

The same 2019 Brookings randomized controlled trial that documented academic gains also measured social-emotional outcomes. And the results were clear—arts education builds the skills that help students thrive in a classroom, in a community, in life.

This is what whole-child learning looks like.

Source: Brookings Institution / Houston RCT, 2019
photo: Mark Brody at Elmonica Elementary School

What does it look like when a student is truly engaged in school?

They lean in. They ask questions. They show up — not because they have to, but because something in that classroom is speaking to them.

Researchers at Rice University found that arts education experiences are "particularly noteworthy" for their positive effects on school engagement — appearing consistently across student subgroups in the largest randomized controlled trial ever conducted in arts education.

This finding matters because engagement isn't just a feel-good metric. It's the foundation everything else is built on. A student who is engaged learns more, misses less, and stays longer.

This year, 35,000 students in our region had access to that experience — through teaching artist residencies that brought music, visual arts, theatre, spoken word, and dance into their classrooms.

35,000 students who got to lean in.

Source: Bowen & Kisida, Rice University / Houston ISD, 2019

🎨 artsforlearningnw.org
📸 photo credit Jess Graff

This year, children's access to the arts faced real pressure — and our community said: not here.

Teaching artists showed up. Educators made space. Partners held the line. And supporters like you chose to invest in something essential.

The result: 35,000 students got to make art this year.

They created murals and wrote lyrics about friendship. They sang music from cultures around the world. For some, it was the first time they'd ever truly found their voice.

That didn't happen by accident. It happened because of collective belief and collective action.

This spring, we're asking our community to come together again — to ensure that arts education in our region is not just sustained, but strengthened. Because children's access to a full, creative education is not a luxury. It is a necessity.

See link in the comments to make a gift. 🎨🌱

IT PASSED. 🎉

Portland City Council just voted yes on updates to the Arts Education and Access Tax — and Portland's kids are the winners.

Here's what just changed:
✅ The arts tax is indexed to inflation for the first time — protecting funding that had lost 25% of its purchasing power
✅ A dedicated funding category for arts education organizations is coming — the ones putting teaching and cultural artists directly in classrooms
✅ The City committed to developing a plan for teaching artist programming in schools — naming this work as a City priority for the first time ever. It's a real opening, and we intend to shape it.

This happened because our community showed up. Teaching artists wrote letters. Families made calls. People testified. You made noise for kids who couldn't make it to City Hall themselves.

At Arts for Learning NW, we are ready to deliver. 40,000 students. 120 teaching and cultural artists. The infrastructure exists — and now, so does the commitment.

Every child in Portland deserves the experience of being seen, of having their culture matter, of discovering they have something to say. Today, this city took a real step toward making that possible.

Thank you, Portland. 💛