CALIFORNIA ADOPTS STANDARDS IN DANCE.

The California State Board of Education has taken a grand jete toward putting dance on par with subjects like science and English by unanimously voting to adopt new Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools.

California's standards, adopted in January, apply to students from kindergarten through grade twelve. Artists, educators, arts organizations, and parents collaborated to set dance benchmarks for different age groups and drew much from a state framework for teaching dance that has been used since the 1980s. Goals were set in five areas: artistic perception, creative expression, historical and cultural contexts, and ability to apply lessons learned in dance to other disciplines.

The National Standards for Dance Education were federally approved in 1994, and, according to the National Dance Educators Organization (NDEO), forty-nine states have agreed to adopt or adapt the National Standards.

California's arts standards, like those in all other subjects, aren't mandatory. Decisions on how to teach are left to districts, schools, and teachers. Those who teach core subjects like math and science have more incentive to follow standards, however, since their students' progress is regularly assessed. Currently, advancement in dance isn't. But Patty Taylor from the California Department of Education says, "The standards do send a message encouraging districts to provide opportunities for students in the arts." And although there is no California teaching credential or student assessment in dance, Liz Cantine, past president of California Dance Educators Association, believes that the adoption of the standards may lead to both.

Professional development in the California content standards will be available to teachers through organizations such as the California Arts Project and the California Alliance for Arts Education. For further information about the standards or professional development, visit www.artsed411.org or www.cde.ca.gov/shsd/arts. For information on standards in other states, contact your state department of education.