ArtsEd Resources

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Champion the Arts with Your PTA

PTA believes all students of all grades 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.

ArtsEd: What Can PTAs Do?

 

As school budgets for the arts and humanities continue to shrink, PTAs continue to serve as vital champions of creativity, culture, and student well-being.
 

Host Arts Education Programming

 

PTAs can host programs and events that highlight the benefits of the arts, while also engaging families and students in arts learning and skill-building. 

National PTA Reflections Program

Spark creativity and celebrate participation and achievement in the arts. Learn more at PTA.org/Reflections/StartYourProgram.

PTA School of Excellence Program
Strengthen family-school partnerships and earn national recognition for your arts education programs through the School of Excellence program. Learn more at PTA.org/Excellence.
Strive for the Best

Download our Critical Questions (en español) resource to uncover tips and ideas based on the Four I's for Transformative Family Engagement that your PTA can use to enhance and foster family engagement in your arts education programming.

 

Support Creating Art At Home

 

Encourage families and your school community to use art-making activities to foster family engagement and fun! Check out the resources from the Kennedy Center around Getting Parents Involved in Arts Education.  

Reflections Art-Making Activities

Encourage families to share their creations with us using #PTAReflections.

Start Creating
Arts to Support Student Mental Health

Creating art at home can assist students in processing and exploring their emotions and experiences and raises mental health awareness. Use these journaling and drawing prompts from the "My Feelings Journaling Program” to aid in teaching children (TK-5) healthy ways of expression. 

 

Celebrate the Arts

 

Celebrating the arts and artists in your school community, gives PTAs the opportunity to:

  • Promote the ways arts education boosts academic success: Students involved in the arts show improved performance in math, reading, and critical thinking.
  • Encourage student voice: Uplifting student artistic perspective fosters personal identity and purpose and creates a platform for expression, building confidence, and connecting with peers.
  • Amplify local impact on a national stage: Participating in a national campaign elevates your work, connects you with other changemakers, and inspires broader support. Check out 50 Stories, 50 States a storytelling campaign from our partners at Americans for the Arts.
  • Showcase how arts shape school culture: From murals to music, the arts foster inclusion, empathy, and pride—making schools more vibrant and welcoming for all.

There’s no one way to celebrate—these ideas are just a starting point to spark your PTA’s creativity and help you find what works best for your school community.

Celebrations to Join
  • National Arts in Education Week: Beginning the second Sunday of September, National Arts in Education Week is an annual celebration brings attention and recognition to the transformative power of the arts in education.
  • National Arts and Humanities Month: Every October, National Arts and Humanities Month provides opportunity to celebrate the value of arts and humanities in shaping our lives, communities, and country.  
  • Youth Arts Month: Typically in March, Youth Arts Month is an annual event that focuses on elevating the value to children from participating in visual art education.
  • Advocacy & YA Week: Typically in Spring, Advocacy & YA Week is an annual advocacy and awareness initiative that aims to ensure the arts remain an integral element of a well-rounded education for all students.

 

Storytelling and Digital Media
  • Share Student Art Online: Encourage your community to post artwork and share how they have benefited from the arts using #ArtsEdWeek, #BecauseOfArtsEd, and #PTAReflections to spotlight the impact of arts education.
  • Showcase Student Creativity: Create a gallery online to celebrate student artists and their stories.
  • Host a Reflections Student Artist Spotlight: Feature a different student artist each day (like last year’s Reflections winners) on your PTA’s website or social media. Include a photo of their work and a short quote from their Reflections Artist Statement
  • Invite Guest Artists or Alumni: Bring in local artists or former students to share videos that highlight how they benefited from arts education. This inspires students and builds community connections.
  • Share Arts Facts & Stats: Post daily facts on social media about how arts education improves academic performance, mental health, and school engagement.
Art-Making and Activities
  • Send Home Family Art Activities: Partner with your school and teachers to share simple, fun arts-based activities that families can do together—building creativity and connection at home.
  • Offer Hands-On Art Experiences: Organize workshops or pop-up stations where students and families can try new art forms like painting, calligraphy, or collage.
  • Organize a Community Art Walk: Display student artwork in local businesses, libraries, or community centers. Create a walking map and invite families to explore and celebrate student creativity.
  • Create an “Arts Impact” Wall: Set up a bulletin board or digital wall where students and families can post notes, drawings, or photos showing how the arts have positively impacted their lives.
  • Launch a Mini Grant for Arts Projects: Offer small grants or supplies to teachers or students for classroom art projects. Announce winners during the week to highlight your PTA’s support.
 

Become an Arts Advocate

 

Your PTA can become an arts advocate by assessing your school’s arts education programs, applying improvement strategies, and building advocacy skills to engage school and district leaders in meaningful support for the arts.

Critically Assess the Arts in Your Community

Get started by using our ArtsEd Leader's Guide to assess the health of the arts programs, practices and policies at your school and how well families are engaged in arts education. Based on your assessment, identify areas for improvement and develop a sustainable action plan to build or further develop arts education in your community.

Advocate for the Arts in Your Community

Using a PTA Position Statement and Resolution, your PTA can show support for arts education in your community or state. For additional tools, templates and resources to support your PTA's arts advocacy efforts, check out this Arts Education Action Kit from Americans for the Arts.


ArtsEd: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

National PTA believes that diversity, equity and inclusion enhances and deepens the impact of the arts in our communities.

Use the Arts to Celebrate Diversity

 

The arts can enhance your PTA efforts to celebrate and acknowledge diverse identities in your community. Creating and learning about art brings people together and provides a unique language of learning that allows all of us to better appreciation and welcome different identities and experiences. 

Black History Month

Black History Month


Exploring the contributions of African American artists is a meaningful way your PTA can honor black history in February—and throughout the year. There are many ways your PTA can use the arts to learn and engage black history.

Here are a few to get started:

  • Engage local Black artists to strengthen school and community connections.

Have ideas to share? Email Reflections@PTA.org to let us know how your PTA uses the arts to celebrate black history. 

National Day of Reading

National Day of Reading


National Day of Reading is a simple and impactful way to celebrate Literature as a critical tool for creating welcoming communities and raising informed, inclusive children.

The national event, hosted by Human Rights Campaign's Welcoming Schools initiative, encourages communities to come together and using reading to focus on and uplift their support for every child, especially transgender and non-binary youth.  

Learn more and take National Day of Reading Pledge today to be entered pledge to read to enter a drawing for a giveaway of a free book!

Welcoming Schools


Speak Up for Diversity in the Arts

 

By supporting diversity in the arts and taking direct action to create inclusive arts engagement, your PTA demonstrates your commitment to representing everyone in the PTA family.

Learn More

Learn More


  • Use best practices to welcome diverse perspectives into your arts programming and ensure your efforts are representative of everyone in your PTA
  • Find ways to celebrate diversity in the arts as part of PTA Reflections program celebrations to offer students positive reinforcement for participation in arts programs, while also fostering inclusivity.
  • Take a diversity in the National PTA arts pledge to highlight your PTA's commitment to expanding diversity in your arts programming. You can also customize this version (en español). 
  • Continue your learning around DEI with National PTA's DEI resources and learn how you can build a more diverse and inclusive PTA to enhance your arts programming.  


Elevate Diverse Student Voices 

 
Highlight diverse students in your school to help students and families see and explore diverse experiences through the lens of people in their own community. This builds empathy and fosters a sense of belonging for all students. 

National PTA believes that the arts are a great platform for our children and youth to elevate their voice. The 2020-2021 Reflections theme, I Matter Because…, reaffirmed this as it took on new meaning and allowed National PTA to connect with the thoughts and feelings of many of our Black and Brown children.

And so, we invited Reflections artists of color and their allies to share artwork that expresses and affirms their beliefs and identities—as well as the importance of Black lives. Check out some of the amazing pieces we received in this highlight video.


ArtsEd: In their own words!

 

We asked our 2023-2024 PTA Reflections national winners why creating art is important to them. Here is what a few of them had to say:


"Art helps me use my brain in different ways than I usually do. It’s fun to express yourself without using words. Or if I don't use words when creating , I do it in a different way than I normally would. I feel and think in fun ways that don’t have any rules that I have to follow."—Mitchell Onken
"For me, art acts as a means of self-expression and exploration, fostering creativity and cultural understanding. In and outside school, it has a therapeutic effect and promotes mental well-being." —Aadya Rai

"First of all, I love to do it! It helps me think in a different way of things. To look in a new perspective! And second, it helps me express myself and my feelings and just be me! I find that secret passion within to keep going and keep trying to make my artworks improve!" —Vaishnavi Hemant

Check out Mitchell's piece:

Hope on a Boat

Check out Aadya's piece:

Ripples of Hope

Check out Vaishnavi's piece:

Together We Can


ArtsEd: Dig Deeper

 
Build on your passion for arts education and take your work up a notch with resources and research from key arts organizations and National PTA collaborators. 

National Level Arts Education Resources

 
  • Arts Education Partnership (AEP): Advance arts education and lead the way to student success with current research and policy insights. 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.
  • Americans for the Arts (AFTA): Foster understanding advocacy about policy and legislation that supports student and community access to high-quality and lifelong learning experiences in the arts. Browse these Arts Matter: State Fact Sheets to learn more about art policy in your state and grow your confidence as a PTA ArtsEd Leader.
  • Assistance for Arts Education Center: Explore evidence-based resources and arts education toolkits to build and expand high-quality, equitable arts programming. Be inspired with new and exciting ways local organizations are supporting the arts with these grantee profiles. 


Regional, State and Discipline-Focused Arts Education Resources

 


ArtsEd: Grant Opportunity

 

Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant

Sponsored by the Family of Mary Lou Anderson 

For over 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. To learn more about Mary Lou Anderson and the impact of her vision, visit our Reflections timeline.

National PTA is proud to continue Mary Lou Anderson's legacy of Reflections through the Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant. Through this grant opportunity, two local PTAs are awarded funds to administer innovative, student-centered programs that increase access to high quality arts learning experiences and provide new pathways for at-risk and underserved students to participate in arts education experiences, including National PTA’s Reflections program. If selected for this specific funding, PTAs must participate or have participated in the current year's Reflections program and must also meet the general requirements for National PTA grants. 

Congratulations to the 2025 Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grantees:

  • Niagara Falls Special Education PTA from Niagara Falls, New York

  • La Merced Academy PTA from Montebello, California

Curious how past grantees have used the grant funds? Read this Our Children article discussing the impact and successes of the 2024 Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grantees, Boca Raton Community High School PTSA (Florida) and Lake Myra Elementary PTA (North Carolina). 


Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant Survey


Share with National PTA

Invite your school community to provide feedback about the program at PTA.org/Survey. If you are providing printed, paper copies of this survey, please mail completed surveys to National PTA Programs at 1250 N. Pitt Street, Alexandria VA 22314 or scan and provide a shared link or attachment to Programs@PTA.org.

TAKE SURVEY




REFLECTIONS HOME

Encourage and celebrate student participation in arts education.


START YOUR PROGRAM

Find tools to run your Local PTA's Reflections program.


AWARDS

Learn about our winners, events and exhibits and see what you can win!