Opening Statement of Councilmember David Grosso, Chairperson

Joint Committee on Education and Committee of the Whole Public Roundtable on

Arts and Humanities Initiatives in DC Public and Public Charter Schools
October 30, 2019

Good morning. I am At-Large Councilmember David Grosso, Chairperson of the Committee on

Education, we are in room 120 of the John A. Wilson Building, and I am calling this public
roundtable on Arts and Humanities Initiatives in DC Public and Public Charter Schools to order.

First, I want to acknowledge that this meeting is taking place on the traditional land of the Anacostan
People of the Piscataway Tribe.

Next I’d also like to acknowledge that today is the 22nd birthday of the DC Arts and Humanities
Education Collaborative, so this Roundtable is an exciting way to spend that anniversary.

The purpose of this roundtable is to examine the policy application of CER22-523, the “Sense of the
Council Arts and Humanities in Education Resolution of 2019” which reiterates that all children should
receive arts and humanities education as a key component of their educational experience by the
inclusion of the arts and humanities in the basic curriculum and that providing arts education is an
opportunity to incorporate and celebrate the cultural diversity of our city.

In the Resolution, arts and humanities education is defined as the sustained exposure to, experience of,
and instruction in creative, cultural and artistic expression and knowledge.

It includes the five nationally recognized arts disciplines: dance, music, theatre, visual arts and media
arts and requires both separate instruction in the arts disciplines as well as integration of the arts into
other academic subjects such as reading, math, science and social studies that meets the National Arts
Standards.

The resolution also calls on the District of Columbia Public Schools and the Public Charter School Board
to adopt curriculum and guidelines for principals and teachers that fully incorporates the arts and
humanities into all District of Columbia schools.

This resolution was meant to encourage our two education sectors to strive toward a common goal in
this subject area.

We also look forward to hearing from various arts and humanities organizations, and government
witnesses regarding equitable access to curriculum integration, experiential learning including in-school
and out-of-school programming, funding adequacy, public-private collaboration, data collection, and
evaluation, as well as future milestones.
I believe that our students are in the best position to succeed when they have strong arts and
humanities education which is why I am also looking forward to hearing from students, including a
couple of performances which are first on the agenda. But I’ll turn now to any colleagues for any
opening statements.

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