experiences and address the diversity of learners that exist in their classrooms.

Bank Street College recognizes and understands the growing need for arts based education and has created partnerships with cultural institutions, including Lincoln Center for the Arts, Queens Museum of Art, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, and organizations that support Arts education, such as Young Audiences. Bank Street has supported this initiative by becoming a liaison between NYC public schools and teaching artists from various cultural institutions. Professional development training is then provided to both the teaching artist and the classroom teacher on child development and curriculum planning to create a unit that focuses on developing the whole child.

While these and other innovative programs exist to support and perpetuate arts education, the reality is that more funding needs to be allocated to the endowment of the arts in NYC public schools. As educators, our responsibility to assist in a child's development is dependent upon recognizing the diverse talents and abilities the children possess and providing opportunities to support those talents with educational options, like the arts. The challenge is to rethink how we, as educators, artists, administrators and policymakers, can advocate for increased funding in support of the arts and a recognition of its role in education. #

Marnie Ponce is the Coordinator of Professional Development for After School Educators, Bank Street College of Education