Letters to the editor (LTEs) are an easy way to get media coverage in one of the most widely read pages in the newspaper. Make sure you follow the newspapers policies for submitting LTEs, typically outlined in the Opinion section.
Below are draft LTEs that can easily be adapted for your community. They focus on arts and education; arts and the economy; and the general benefits to a local community of a robust arts culture.
TOPIC: Education
Candidates for office talk a lot about wanting to improve the quality of education our kids receive. Ensuring that all of our students have access to arts education is an effective place to start.
Research shows that preschoolers who receive music instruction show improved vocabulary, communication skills, and memory compared with peers that don’t. Eighth graders with high levels of arts engagement in elementary school scored higher on science and writing tests than peers with less exposure to the arts over the same period. High school students with four years of arts and music classes scored 92 points higher on their SATs than those will less than a year of arts instruction.
In other words, arts education results in higher achievement outcomes across all academic subjects and grade levels. In this election season I want to hear from candidates about how they will ensure that all of our children—no matter which they school they attend—receive a well-rounded education, including instruction in the creative arts.
NAME
City/Town
Phone number (for verification, not publication)
TOPIC: Education
Arts education is an important part of student success. This election season, as a parent and as a voter I need to know which candidates support investing in K-12 arts education.
Arts education fosters the development of critical thinking and learning skills. In one study, for example, elementary and middle school students who visited the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum multiple times over the course of a school year for arts instruction showed significantly higher critical thinking skills than their peers who did not. Other research shows that students from preschool through high school who receive sequential arts instruction showed more skills in creative thinking, including problem-solving, critical thinking and argument, independence, empathy, and positive peer interaction.
Research also shows that students from low-income families who received nine hours of after school arts instruction were four times more likely to participate in a math or science fair than their peers who did not. Elementary students from low-income families who received arts instruction in school scored higher on reading tests than their peers who did not.
I look forward to hearing from candidates running to represent [city/town] on this important issue before Election Day.
NAME
City/Town
Phone number (for verification, not publication)
TOPIC: Education/Quality of Life/Civic engagement
Want to see more of your neighbors get involved in improving our neighborhoods? Are you worried about crime and quality of life issues in your community? Do you think our youth need to be more civically engaged?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then support candidates who support investment in the arts, culture and creativity when you go to the polls this fall.
Arts, culture and creative expression builds vibrant communities. Research shows that active arts organizations make neighborhoods safer, more welcoming, and improve overall quality of life; and that participants in community-based arts programs experience a greater connection to their community. Similarly, high school students from low-income backgrounds who received arts-rich education participated in student government and school service clubs at a rate four times higher than low-income peers whose schooling did not emphasize the arts.
In the coming months, I would like to hear from candidates about their concrete plans to initiate or support robust arts education and programming in our schools and in our communities. It’s good for our collective quality of life.
NAME
City/Town
Phone number (for verification, not publication)
TOPIC: Economic benefits
Arts and culture aren’t just a fun diversion, they’re necessary to our state’s growth and quality of life—which are intertwined. Few industries generate as much revenue for our cities and towns—and Massachusetts as a whole—than arts events do. That’s why candidates for office must discuss their plans to ensure our creative economy continues to thrive and grow.
Arts and cultural organizations drive tourism, attract new dollars and retain local dollars. In 2015, nonprofit arts organizations generated more than $100 million in revenue for Massachusetts and its communities. In Cambridge and Boston, arts organizations generate $884 million each year with arts audiences spending an additional $645 million on event-related expenses such as dining out, parking, and hotel stays. In the Gateway cities of Worcester, Springfield, and Lowell total annual spending by arts organizations and their audiences is $188 million. In fact, arts and culture have played a major role in revitalizing these and other cities as manufacturing and other industries have died off or relocated.
Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in Massachusetts also provide more than 62,000 jobs.
In this election season, candidates running to represent [city/town] must make supporting our creative economy a priority.
NAME
City/Town
Phone number (for verification, not publication)
TOPIC: Overall benefits of arts culture
Anyone who’s taken their child to story time at the library, enjoyed a free outdoor concert on a breezy summer night, or done some holiday shopping at a local craft fair knows that arts, culture, and creativity brings people together and builds community. They make our neighborhoods prettier, livelier, and safer.
That’s why, with election season in full swing, it’s important that candidates talk about arts and cultural issues. Do they have a cultural policy plan? Do they believe elected leaders must play a role in supporting arts and cultural activities? Do they have strategies for increasing investment in the arts? How will they integrate arts policies into government initiatives on education, public health and safety, and economic development?
Before I cast my votes, I look forward to hearing from candidates for local office on the role of the arts, culture, and creativity in the life and health of our neighborhoods.
NAME
City/Town
Phone number (for verification, not publication)
