How the Performing Arts Support Flourishing, Belonging, and Well-being in Schools
Written with Ginger Bartkoski Meagher, VP of Programs at the Theatre Development Fund NYC
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve sat in a theatre seat, the lights dimming, waiting with anticipation and excitement for that first line of dialogue or burst of music. Actually, that’s not quite true - thanks to a nerdy spreadsheet, I know that I have seen over 1,500 live events across multiple countries and decades.
This has been an incredible portfolio of experiences that has given me so much more than just entertainment value. It has grounded me spiritually, lifted my creative spirits up through the boundless talent on stage, and expanded my appreciation of cultural and stylistic diversity. Most importantly, it has given me endless joy I have been able to share with my wife and son (though, being Canadian, he seems to prefer hockey and is on his way to becoming a great referee).
Theatre has also eased my own anxieties, given me a sense of belonging in various like-minded communities, and countered the loneliness that I sometimes experienced as an expat. I have taken many creative inspirations from the immensely talented artists I have seen and applied them to my work in subtle but powerful ways.
What Do We Mean by “Flourishing” in Schools?
These aren’t trivial outcomes. They are markers of flourishing — of being well-rounded, emotionally resilient, and socially connected. In K-12 education, we aspire to develop these same outcomes for our children, reflecting a modern vision for schooling that reimagines dated models of education that are too often limiting students’ holistic, humanistic development.
Research programs on flourishing characterize it as a multidimensional, globally relevant construct that is essential to effective schooling. In plain terms: flourishing isn’t just about feeling good. It’s about being able to engage, persist, connect, and grow.
Instrumentation and frameworks exist that can be leveraged to operationalize and evaluate program impact. Importantly, these include international frameworks that reflect the global relevance of flourishing. Similarly, studies of social-emotional learning (SEL) and 21st-century skills demonstrate how competencies such as self-regulation, empathy, resilience, and creativity are a critical part of human development.
Why the Performing Arts Are a Powerful Lever for Flourishing
That’s why it has been such a privilege for me to serve on the Advocacy and Insights Advisory Board of the Theatre Development Fund in New York under the leadership of Executive Director Deeksha Gaur and Vice President of Programs Ginger Bartkoski Meagher. TDF is nationally recognized for its unwavering commitment to expanding access to the performing arts by systematically dismantling barriers to participation.
Through a wide-ranging portfolio of initiatives, TDF addresses socio-economic disparities and other deterrents to attendance. In addition to a paid membership community of more than 100,000 members and the iconic TKTS booth in Times Square, TDF offers free programming that annually reaches over 40,000 individuals from diverse communities across New York City. TDF also engages in strategic partnerships with specific productions—such as its recent collaboration with &Juliet—to broaden access to high-quality professional theatre.
Accessibility is central to this work. TDF offers tailored programs for families and individuals affected by autism, blindness or low vision, hearing loss, and deafness, ensuring that the performing arts are welcoming and inclusive for audiences with a wide range of needs and experiences.
One particularly transformative initiative is the TONY-honored Wendy Wasserstein Project. The program pairs professional theatre artists with cohorts of eight high school students and their teacher to attend, discuss, and reflect on six Broadway productions in a single season. Theatre becomes not just an event, but a shared learning experience—one that cultivates belonging, empathy, critical dialogue, and a strong sense of community.
In the 2024–25 academic year alone, more than 216 students participated in over 162 professional performances through this initiative. Students consistently report increased confidence, empathy, and academic motivation. Teachers observe higher levels of engagement, self-awareness, and communication skills. Families note the emergence of meaningful intergenerational conversations sparked by shared artistic experiences.
Many alumni credit the program with developing enduring forms of cultural capital, interpersonal fluency, and intellectual curiosity—capacities shaped through sustained exposure to professional theatre, close interaction with artist-mentors, and the structured practice of reflection. These are precisely the kinds of outcomes we associate with flourishing: feeling seen, connected, capable, and inspired.
District and State Initiatives around Flourishing
Despite their documented benefits, performing arts and cultural programs remain vulnerable. Budget pressures, shifting political priorities, and—in some contexts—outright censorship can place arts education on unstable footing. At the same time, formal state assessment and accountability systems rarely signal the importance of constructs such as flourishing, belonging, or well-being. As my colleague Laura Hamilton has argued, we need to move beyond zero-sum thinking that pits academic learning against broader developmental goals.
Encouragingly, many states and districts are beginning to articulate more expansive visions for student success. Portraits of learners and graduates increasingly emphasize social-emotional and transferable skills alongside academic competencies, presenting a more holistic picture of what it means to be prepared for life beyond school. Some states go even further. For example, Nevada explicitly frames its vision around the idea of thriving, describing graduates as courageous, resilient, intellectually agile, and grounded in integrity.
Moving from vision to practice requires action at multiple levels of the system. The question, then, is how district and state leaders can translate these values into concrete action. Here are a few examples.
What Districts Can Do
Build structured reflection into student learning
Exposure alone is powerful, but reflection deepens impact. Districts can support practices such as journaling, digital storytelling, and portfolio-based reflection that help students articulate what artistic experiences mean to them. In Austin, for example, the district’s Creative Learning Initiative integrates arts-based experiences with creative portfolios, helping students connect the arts to academic goals and the competencies outlined in the district’s Portrait of a Graduate.
Forge partnerships with local arts institutions
Districts can establish formal partnerships with theaters, museums, and cultural organizations to co-create meaningful learning experiences. For example, Chicago Public Schools has partnered with the Goodman Theatre to offer student matinees connected to classroom instruction, enabling thousands of students to experience professional theatre as part of their education.
Pilot arts-integrated SEL programs
Some districts intentionally combine arts education with SEL initiatives and evaluate their outcomes. In Cleveland, the CARE program run by Cleveland Play House uses theatre and storytelling to support the development of self-awareness and empathy, with measurable improvements in SEL-related outcomes.
Integrate arts-related indicators into local accountability systems
Accountability frameworks can evolve to reflect what communities value. Connecticut offers a compelling example through its Arts Access Indicator, which reports the percentage of high school students enrolled in visual and performing arts courses at the school and district levels. This simple but powerful signal communicates that access to the arts matters. Districts can pilot similar local indicators that reflect participation, access, or sustained engagement in the arts.
Engage local communities in defining priorities
Local accountability systems are strongest when they reflect community values. Districts can use advisory boards, surveys, and public forums to elevate the role of the arts in student development. In Beechwood, for example, students may choose Performing Arts as one of several “minors” aligned to learner pathways—an explicit integration of arts education, community priorities, and student choice.
What States Can Do
Build statewide resources and initiatives
In Michigan, the MAIEA project led to a comprehensive package of resources and tools arts educators can use to increase access to high-quality arts education programs and practice in Michigan’s schools. Similarly, the Creative Potential initiative advances equitable access to quality K-12 arts education through data collection, implementation of resources, strategic partnerships, and a statewide arts education action agenda.
Create dedicated statewide pathways for the arts
In New York, the Individual Arts Assessment Pathway is a graduation pathway option in which students complete a locally determined three-unit sequence in the arts and demonstrate, through a collection of creative works, growth over time. The pathway is connected to the New York State Learning Standards for the Arts through performance indicators.
Signal the value of the arts through accountability narratives and guidance
Beyond formal indicators, states can embed the arts into how they frame school quality and improvement. This includes incorporating arts participation, engagement, and related well-being constructs into school quality reports, improvement guidance, and public-facing dashboards. When states explicitly name the arts as contributors to student flourishing and belonging, they provide districts with both permission and encouragement to invest in these areas as part of a well-rounded educational experience. One example in this respect is New York’s Well-Rounded Educational Opportunities Companion Guide.
Support statewide professional learning and cross-sector collaboration
States can play a critical role in building educator and partner capacity by supporting statewide learning communities, shared toolkits, or grant-funded partnerships that bring together districts, arts organizations, and higher education institutions. By investing in the people and relationships that sustain arts-based work, states can help ensure that initiatives focused on flourishing and belonging endure beyond individual programs or funding cycles. One powerful model of cross-sector collaboration is the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative, which unites nearly 100 cultural organizations — including museums, theaters, and arts centers — with public and charter schools to expand equitable arts learning for students.
Toward a More Human-Centered Vision of Education
Taken together, these strategies demonstrate that supporting the arts is not about displacing academic learning. It is about enriching and amplifying it. When students feel connected, inspired, and seen, they bring that energy into classrooms, assessments, and their broader learning journeys.
If we sacrifice the arts, we risk sacrificing the very experiences that make us deeply human. Modern advances in AI can both act as threats — for example, replacing human artistry with synthetic performances — or as supports, such as AI-powered tools that expand access to performances or enable new modes of participation for students with diverse learning needs.
At this crossroads, we should resist treating the performing arts as an optional “extra.” Instead, we should recognize them as a vital part of a more holistic, human-centered vision for education. Reimagining assessment and accountability in alignment with these values can help ensure that our systems support not only what students know, but who they are becoming: socially connected, emotionally healthy, and fully capable of shaping their futures.
Where have you seen the arts meaningfully shape students’ sense of belonging or well-being — inside or outside of school?
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The views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center for Assessment.
