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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jackie Cruz, Interim Acting President of New York City Art Teachers Association
4:39:29
ยท
3 min
Jackie Cruz, a retired bilingual art teacher and interim acting president of the New York City Art Teachers Association, testified about the importance of arts education in New York City public schools. She highlighted the irony of New York being an arts capital while students lack adequate exposure to the arts, and emphasized the need for equitable access to arts education for all students.
- Cruz shared a personal experience of using art to help students process the events of 9/11, with one student's work now on display at the 9/11 museum.
- She emphasized that arts education improves academic outcomes, prepares students for the workforce, and increases parental involvement and attendance rates.
- Cruz called for guaranteed arts education for all students, including funding and certified art teachers in every school.
Jackie Cruz
4:39:29
Good afternoon.
4:39:31
Thank you to chairperson Rivera and Joseph and the committee for this opportunity.
4:39:37
My name is Jackie Cruz.
4:39:39
I am a retired bilingual art teacher of thirty years in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
4:39:45
I am now the interim acting president of NYCARDA, New York City Art Teachers Association, a committee of the UFT.
4:39:53
And I just want to speak about the irony of what is going on in this city.
4:40:00
New York City is considered the arts capital of the world.
4:40:03
We have the Met, MoMA, the Whitney, and many more museums along with Broadway, Juilliard, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Dance Theater Of Harlem, New York City Ballet, Male Hispanico to name a few.
4:40:18
All of these arts places are create a very lucrative tourism industry in our city.
4:40:26
And yet, our New York City Students who should be fully exposed to the plethora of arts around them are not adequately.
4:40:36
If we face the irony of what's going on, we have to do something to improve art education and make it equitable for all.
4:40:47
It is when students have the opportunity to be immersed in the arts and to learn to create and forge their own masterpieces that they will truly thrive and understand the human needs for the arts.
4:40:59
With every society that our students study from the past, it is through the arts that students learn most.
4:41:07
It is how people attain knowledge of culture and history.
4:41:11
How can we only teach them to take tests to show their understanding?
4:41:15
We must ensure that every school has the funds and certified art teachers to give our children the ability to flourish and grow as artists.
4:41:26
Back in 02/2001, when we were undergoing nine eleven, our fifth graders were horrified witnessed out of the windows of our school.
4:41:37
And our very next project starting in October was to I gave them black and white paint, and I taught them about Picasso's Guernica.
4:41:46
And they created amazing large pieces that hung on a wall outside our auditorium.
4:41:52
And one of those pieces is now on permanent display at the nine eleven museum.
4:41:58
It is with the arts that kids are nurtured to promote social emotional wellness.
4:42:03
Studies have shown that art improves academic outcomes, prepares students to enter the workforce, and increases parental involvement and attendance rates.
4:42:13
For some kids, it may be an art class that keeps them coming back to school every day.
4:42:19
This city must establish a realistic, equitable foundation for arts instruction in every school to support pathways to a bright, bold future for all.
4:42:30
That's why we're asking for your support to guarantee arts education for all.
4:42:35
Thank you.