National Guild Joins Host Commitee to Welcome DOE Chancellor

On Wednesday May 9, 2018, New York City arts educators welcomed Richard A. Carranza, the new Department of Education Chancellor. The National Guild participated as a member of the host committee, alongside Americans for the Arts, Arts Education Partnership, Carnegie Hall, Center for Arts Education, Cultural Institutions Group, and New York City Arts in Education Roundtable.

The welcome featured performances from Guild members DreamYard (Bronx, NY) and Carnegie Hall’s Future Music Project (New York, NY). Courtney Boddie, director of education and school engagement at The New Victory Theater (New York, NY), moderated the conversation with Mr. Carranza. During the presentation, Mr. Carranza also performed for the group, demonstrating his talents as a mariachi musician.

Mr. Carranza is tasked with educating over 1.1 million students and, in regards to arts education, faces an uphill battle. According to 2014 data from the city comptroller, 28 percent of NYC schools have no certified arts teachers, 16 percent of schools have no arts or cultural partnerships, and 10 percent of schools have no dedicated arts room. A recent article in the NY Times highlighted that, as large, struggling public school are shuttered by the DOE, the smaller schools that take their place are not providing comprehensive arts learning, particularly music education.

The Chancellor has noted that he hopes one of his legacies will be that “New Yorkers have really seen how students have much more diversity in what their experiences are in fine arts.” During the welcome, he expressed a similar commitment to supporting arts education and using it as a tool to drive student success.

You can read Mr. Carranza’s full interview with the NY Times here.

Photo credit: National Guild for Community Arts Education, New York, NY

Published: May 09, 2018