National Arts & Learning Collaborative, Inc

Mission

In an era of ever-decreasing funding and resources for arts education, NALC promotes learning in and through the arts by serving inner-city K-12 students, in and out of school educators, school and arts/cultural administrators, foundation representatives, policymakers, and university faculty/researchers. NALC administers the Arts & Learning Collaborative model (ALC) in the Boston Public Schools, convenes arts in education conferences, supports research, and provides advocacy tools and resources for its constituents. The ALC program serves urban elementary schools that on average are 79% economically disadvantaged. Most students are African American or Hispanic, and many have limited English proficiency. State testing data indicates that the majority of the students need improvement or failed the English Language Arts (ELA), math, and reading portions of recent tests. These students don't just need more education, they need different kinds of learning experiences. NALC offers these through the arts. Over 1000 professionals have participated in NALC conferences and professional development to gain needed knowledge and skills to integrate the arts into school curriculum. Over 3000 people across the nation receive NALCs biannual newsletter containing information on recent research and publications, models in arts education and other new and important happeingings in the art education field.