When Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, he famously said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Updating Illinois’ arts learning standards might not rise to the historic level of the first moon landing, but the same sentiment applies. The recommendations developed by the Illinois Arts Learning Standards Initiative represent a giant leap in arts education, particularly for technology and the arts.

The last time Illinois updated its arts learning standards, in 1997, it did not include media arts. Nearly two decades later, our state still does not have media arts learning standards.

That will change under the initiative’s recommendations, which will give media arts teachers the learning standards they have long sought. “The recommended media arts standards are insightful and practical,” says Marilynn Meredith, a member of the initiative’s Advisory Committee and the Curriculum Chair at Prarieland Elementary (Normal, IL). “They represent a significant modernization in the standards and reflect the media arts best practices seen in Illinois classrooms.”

The standards also place a greater emphasis on technology across all artistic disciplines.

Express your support for the standards today. It only takes a few minutes, and the public comment period ends soon.

Submitting comments of support might seem like a small step, but it will empower a giant leap in arts education in Illinois.

Sincerely,