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Reflections Arts Program

Become an Arts Advocate!

PTA believes all students deserve the opportunity to take part in the arts, both in school and in the community. The arts can positively affect entire school culture—especially student motivation, attitudes, and attendance—which encourages students to stay in school, succeed in school, succeed in work, and succeed in life!

Help PTA ensure that every child has access to-and takes part in-high quality arts learning experiences. Use the tools below to grow family and community engagement for arts education at your school.


PTA ArtsEd Toolkit

Whether you're new to PTA or an experienced leader, our new & improved ArtsEd Leader's Guide will help you establish an ArtsEd team, assess arts programs, practices and policies at your school and engage more families in school decision-making. By the end of the school year, your PTA will be able to accomplish one or more of the following:

  • Start a PTA ArtsEd Committee at your school
  • Engage more families and build stronger community partnerships
  • Lead improvements to ArtsEd programs, practices and policies
  • Base any arts programming in best practice. Use this document to ensure that the arts are rooted in the Four I’s for transformative family engagement.

Arts Ed Guide



What Can PTAs Do?

  • Develop

    Use our new & improved ArtsEd Leader's Guide to develop arts programming and share resources with parents to support their child’s interest in the arts.

  • Create At Home

    Check out these Reflections At-Home Activities you can do with the whole family. Share these with families in your school community to help inspire them to create! Encourage families to share their creations with us using #PTAReflections.

  • Advocate for Arts Education

    Using a powerful PTA Position Statement and Resolution, your PTA can show important support and enthusiasm arts education.

  • Speak Up for Diversity in the Arts 

    Take our new diversity in the arts pledge to highlight your PTA's commitment to furthering diversity in your Reflections program. You can even customize this version to make the pledge specific to your arts program and community needs.

  • Host a Creative Career Fair for Families

    Invite families to learn about how artistic literacy translates into college and career readiness. Learn how using the PTA Creative Career Fair Guide.

  • Enroll in the National PTA's School of Excellence Program (May 1 - Oct. 1)

    Strengthen family-school partnerships in support of arts education and gain national recognition for excellence in family engagement with the School of Excellence program. Learn more and enroll at PTA.org/Excellence.



Partnership Resources

Americans for the Arts envisions a country where everyone has access to-and takes part in-high quality and lifelong learning experiences in the arts, both in school and in the community. Learn about new ways to support the arts during National Arts in Education Week and National Arts and Humanities Month. Find connections and partnerships in the Arts Education Field Guide. Browse the Arts Education Navigator Series and grow your confidence as a PTA ArtsEd Leader. Share these family activities.

Arts Education Partnership helps PTA to advance arts education and lead the way to student success with current research and policy insights. Visit ArtScan to learn about state education policies supporting arts education. Make your case for arts education with the help of ArtsEdSearch, a research and policy database providing summaries on academic, cognitive, personal, social, and civic outcomes for students of arts education.

Our national program supporters offer access to regional and state level arts education experts.




ArtsEd Grant Opportunity

Mary Lou Anderson ArtsEd Grant - now closed


For 50 years, the National PTA Reflections arts program has furthered the goals of the program founder, Mary Lou Anderson. Mary Lou Anderson believed in the power and importance of the arts and dreamed that Reflections would leave a lasting impact on children across the country – and it has! Reflections has helped millions of students explore their own thoughts, feelings and ideas, develop artistic literacy, increase confidence and find a love for learning that will help them become more successful in school and in life.

National PTA is happy to continue Mary Lou Anderson's vision of Reflections through the Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant. This grant opportunity provides local PTAs the opportunity to match grant dollars with that of school and community partners to accomplish innovative arts education projects.

In line with Mary Lou Anderson’s vision of access to the arts education, this grant opportunity places special emphasis on increasing arts access among at-risk and underserved students. It is National PTA’s hope that this grant opportunity will serve local PTAs that demonstrate a commitment to providing new pathways for students to participate in National PTA’s Reflections program and increasing at-risk student's access to high quality arts learning experiences.




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