Sample Letter - Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts

(your address)
(date)

The Honorable Dana Gioia
Acting Chairman
The National Endowment for the Arts
1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20506

Dear Chairman Gioia,

I am the parent of a __ grader at (name of school) in (your city), (your state). I am concerned that s/he is not getting a strong enough education in the arts.

Research studies (Champions of Change, 1999) show that students with high levels of involvement in the arts improve their performance at school in many ways, and that the arts are also a means of reaching students not currently being reached, such as those at-risk of not learning to their full potential. The arts help narrow the gap between low socioeconomic status (SES) students who are not highly involved in the arts and their higher SES peers. The arts bring families, communities, and schools together through a common sense of pride.

I want to thank you for your support of the national Arts Education Partnership and the National Endowment for the Art's other strong work in arts education. Please continue to use the prominence of the National Endowment for the Arts to support arts-based programming and education for our nation's youth. Please assist school districts in providing a quality education in the arts.

Thank you for all that you do on behalf of the people of America.

Sincerely,
(sign and print your name)