"The purpose of arts education is not to produce more artists, though that is a byproduct. The real purpose of arts education is to create human beings capable of leading successful and productive lives in a free society."

"…art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment."

President John F. Kennedy

 "A friend's son was in the first grade of school, and his teacher asked the class, "What is the color of apples?" Most of the children answered red. A few said green. Kevin, my friend's son, raised his hand and said white. The teacher tried to explain that apples could be red, green, or sometimes golden, but never white. Kevin was quite insistent and finally said, "Look inside."

Whether through an art, music, dance or theatre class, a storyteller or musician in the media center, a theatre performance in the cafeteria or a large performance hall, a potter or a poet in the classroom, the arts in educational settings give us new and creative ways of thinking about the world and about our relationships to one another. The arts help us…..look inside."

From "Insight Meditation", by Joe Goldstein

"There is a growing evidence that arts education improves student learning and thereby produces better citizens". - David J. Skorton, President, Cornell University

"If they are worried about their test scores and want a way to get them higher, they need to give kids more arts, not less.  There's lots of evidence that kids immersed in the arts do better on their academic tests." - Tom Horne, Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction

"Above all, we are coming to understand that the arts incarnate the creativity of a free people." - John F. Kennedy