that claim has receipts
Every claim we make, mapped to its study.
The parade’s activities sit on a research base hundreds of studies deep — decades of peer-reviewed work on arts integration, social-emotional learning, play, and literacy, spanning hundreds of thousands of students. Here are the headline claims and where each one comes from.
The largest RCT in arts education found better attendance, more kindness, and fewer behavior problems.
- Bowen & Kisida (2019)n=10,548; 42 schools
Investigating causal effects of arts education experiences: Experimental evidence from Houston’s Arts Access Initiative — Houston Education Research Consortium, 7(4).
Arts-integrated education produced significant gains in school engagement, compassion, and writing achievement, higher college aspirations, and reduced disciplinary infractions.
A 13% drop in chronic absenteeism among low-income students — the exact metric states grade schools on.
- Bowen & Kisida (2021)
The arts advantage: Impacts of arts education on Boston students — EdVestors / Boston Public Schools study.
13 percent reduction in chronic absenteeism among low-income students.
Arts experiences build the social-emotional foundations that learning stands on.
- Farrington et al. (2019)
Arts education and social-emotional learning outcomes among K–12 students: Developing a theory of action — UChicago Consortium / Ingenuity research synthesis.
Arts education develops SEL outcomes through identity development, creative agency, collaborative meaning-making, and community belonging, mapping to all five SEL competency domains.
If your buildings serve Title I populations, the research leans your way. Across this base, the strongest documented effects show up with the students who need it most — low-income students and students already struggling.
Thinking about it? Start with the guide.
it’s ridiculously fun, impactful and easy