Arts For Learning NW

The numbers are in. And they're remarkable.

A landmark study tracked more than 22,000 students over 12 years. The finding? Students with high arts involvement were five times more likely to graduate high school than their peers with low arts involvement.

Five times. Not a rounding error. Not a footnote.

At Arts for Learning NW, we see this every day — in the teaching artist who makes a student feel seen for the first time, in the residency that keeps a disengaged kid coming back to school, in the program that gives a child a reason to picture their own future.

The research backs what we know to be true: arts education isn't enrichment. It's infrastructure.

📊 Source: The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth, National Endowment for the Arts (Catterall, Dumais & Hampden-Thompson, 2012)

Last week, Portland City Council ran out of time. The Arts Education and Access Tax vote got pushed.

But we're still here. And so are you. 💛

Tomorrow — Wednesday, May 13 — Portland City Council finally votes on updates that would:

✅ Protect arts funding from inflation
✅ Create dedicated support for arts education organizations
✅ Commit the City to keeping teaching artists in schools

This mural at Groner Elementary? That's what the Arts Tax looks like when it reaches a classroom. A teaching artist. A school-wide project. A permanent piece of community identity on a school wall.

Not every school gets that. These updates help change that.
Write to your council member today at portland.gov/council
Tell them you support the arts tax updates. It takes 5 minutes.
Portland's kids have been waiting long enough. 🎨

How do you visualize an ecosystem? At Groner Elementary, you paint one. 🎨🏔️
We are so proud to have facilitated a Right Brain residency featuring the incredible Christian Barrios! This wasn't just an art project—it was a school-wide deep dive into the structures of life in south Hillsboro.

From the neighbor’s sheep farm to the pumpkins in the school garden, Christian helped students translate their local geography into a vibrant, permanent landmark
Huge thanks to Principal Alano Ciliberto and the Groner teachers for inviting us to turn their life science curriculum into a community celebration.

Big news for Portland's kids. 🎨🥁✏️

Next Wednesday, Portland City Council votes on updates to the Arts Education and Access Tax — changes that would protect arts funding from inflation, create a dedicated funding stream for arts education organizations, and commit the City to supporting teaching artists in schools.

This is a win years in the making. And it needs your voice to cross the finish line.

If you're a teaching artist, a parent, an educator, or someone who believes every child deserves access to arts and creative learning — please write to your Portland City Council member this week.

You don't need to be a policy expert. Just tell them:
🎭 Who you are
🎨 What arts education has meant to you or a child you know
🥁 That you support these updates to the arts tax

Find your council member at portland.gov/council

Portland's kids can't show up to City Hall. But you can. 💛

📸 Pictured: Carol Smith (President, Portland Youth Philharmonic Board of Directors & Oregon Symphonic Band Board of Directors), Briana Linden (Executive Director, ), and Jill Giedt ( teaching artist & founder of Ballet the Black Way).