How can you promote diversity in your school's arts and music programs?

1 Understand your context

Before you can design and implement any diversity initiatives, you need to understand the current state of your school's arts and music programs. What are the demographics of your students, staff, and community? What are the existing curricula, resources, and opportunities for arts and music education? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your programs in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion? How do your programs align with the national and state standards and frameworks for arts and music education? Conducting a comprehensive needs assessment will help you identify the gaps and priorities for improvement.

2 Engage your stakeholders

Promoting diversity in your school's arts and music programs is not a one-person job. You need to engage and collaborate with various stakeholders, such as students, parents, teachers, administrators, artists, musicians, and community members. Seek their input, feedback, and support for your diversity goals and plans. Create opportunities for dialogue, learning, and sharing among different groups and perspectives. Foster a culture of respect, appreciation, and belonging for everyone involved in your programs.

3 Diversify your content

One of the most visible and impactful ways to promote diversity in your school's arts and music programs is to diversify the content that you teach and showcase. This means selecting and integrating diverse works of art and music from different cultures, genres, styles, eras, and backgrounds. It also means exploring and addressing diverse themes, issues, and perspectives that relate to your students' lives and experiences. By diversifying your content, you can expose your students to a wider range of artistic and musical expressions, challenge their assumptions and stereotypes, and inspire their creativity and critical thinking.

4 Diversify your participants

Another important way to promote diversity in your school's arts and music programs is to diversify the participants who engage in and benefit from them. This means ensuring that all students have access to and participation in high-quality arts and music education, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, disability, socioeconomic status, or other factors. It also means providing differentiated instruction, support, and assessment that meet the diverse needs, interests, and abilities of your students. Additionally, it means recruiting and retaining diverse staff, mentors, and role models who can represent and enrich your programs.

5 Evaluate your outcomes

Finally, to promote diversity in your school's arts and music programs, you need to evaluate the outcomes of your efforts and make adjustments as needed. You can use various methods and tools to measure the impact of your programs on your students' learning, engagement, achievement, and attitudes. You can also solicit feedback from your stakeholders on the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of your programs. Based on the data and evidence you collect, you can celebrate your successes, identify your challenges, and plan your next steps.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?