It is a goal of the New York City schools to provide all public school students a high-quality arts education. Students will discover the lifelong enjoyment and wonder inherent in dance, music, theater, and visual arts. They also will connect to arts institutions and organizations that exhibit and perform the arts, offer advanced study in the arts, and generate the many financially and personally rewarding jobs available in New York City’s arts-related industries.

The Department of Education supports universal access to arts education through the ArtsCount initiative, which tracks and reports student participation in arts education and holds schools accountable for meeting New York State Instructional Requirements for the Arts.

The Annual Arts in Schools Report, first published in the 2006-2007 school year, includes data about arts teachers, arts budgeting, space for the arts, partnerships with arts and cultural organizations, and parent involvement for elementary, middle, and high schools. The 2007-2008 Annual Arts in Schools Report, published on October 14, 2008, can be viewed by clicking here.

Along with the aggregate report, individual Annual Arts in Schools Reports are published to help school administrator, parents, and students understand how their schools are progressing towards offering universal arts education to all students. These reports provide baseline information for arts education accountability at the school level, and can help schools identify areas of success and areas that need improvement. Individual school reports can be found on the "statistics" page of each school's website. Click here to view the individual school arts reports for 2007-2008.

The Department supports increased quality in arts education through the curriculum and professional development for teachers of visual art, music, dance, and theater. Working with their partners from the cultural community, DOE staff have developed the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts, preK-12, which outlines what students should know and be able to do in the arts at key grades and at critical junctures in their intellectual, physical, and emotional development The Blueprint provides teachers with a path to help them determine the work they should be doing in each art form. It also provides school administrators with tools to supervise arts teachers and recognize and share with parents the potential their children have for achievement in the arts.