This letter reaches you at a time when many things happening in our country threaten the work Arts for Learning does, how we do it, who has access to our programs, and in many cases, the people in our community.

Our commitment:
We at A4L remain vested in our commitment to serving children, fostering communities, and changing education. We do this through dedication, caring, and love—ensuring all in our community feel seen and valued, regardless of wealth, skin color, background, ability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We remain, and will always be, committed to these principles. We hold them tight as we listen and learn from our folks on the ground doing the work in communities.

How at risk are the people we serve?
A4L impacts over 150,000 students annually, employing 60 full-time staff, and over 400 contractual teaching artists and educators. Much of our funding comes either directly or indirectly (through school contracts) from Federal grants. The recently proposed cuts to government funding and the dismantling of the US Dept of Education would dramatically affect our ability to serve Maryland students, particularly students in high-poverty communities. We rely on these funds to deliver award-winning, data-driven programs that support academic achievement through the arts, such as the Arts for Learning Academies (SALA and ASALA).

What do we know?
The arts transform lives, classroom learning, and student outcomes. We have evidence to back this up. This is because the arts foster creativity, connection, self-expression, understanding, and a greater sense of belonging for our young people. We need more of this in our world right now–not less. (see why)

What are we doing?
In response to executive orders threatening immigrants, we are arming staff and artists with information so they are better prepared to protect their rights and the rights of our students. Next week, we will bring together artists working with children impacted by the threat of ICE, to understand clearly how we can support teachers, principals, and their students.

Despite executive orders promoting an anti-DEI agenda, we continue to support artists and teachers to create classrooms grounded in identity, belonging, and love that celebrate the diversity of the communities we serve. We provide and participate in trainings that equip us to support our diverse community, including Black and brown communities and the LGBTQ+ community. After a significant decline in corporate sponsorships threatened our annual Blacktastic! A Virtual Festival of Maryland Black History + Culture–our board of directors stepped in to replace corporate dollars with their own, and found new sponsors with the courage to fill the gap. With their help, over 48,000 Maryland children are able to attend this festival next week.

Under threat of losing federal funding, we have committed to stay the course–finding alternate forms of funding to ensure artists remain employed, young people have equitable access to the arts, and schools can depend on us to enrich teaching and learning. This threat includes a four-year, $3.9M federally funded research grant for the largest data collection and evaluation of an arts integration intervention in our country’s history. Regardless of executive action, we will complete at least the third year. These findings could help shape the future of education.

How can you help? Learn what you can do now.

Thank you for the dedication and love you all share with us,
Stacie Sanders Evans, President & CEO