On Board Online • February 2, 2026
By Sara Foss
Special Correspondent
More than a decade ago, the arts program at CiTi BOCES was mostly field trips. Today, offerings include professional development and curriculum support to help schools in Oswego County connect the arts to every academic subject.
One regional event is a ceramics competition called Feats of Clay. In November, a conductor from Texas led the debut of The Echo, an all-day event in which music teachers learned rehearsal techniques and students from four districts joined Syracuse University students in choral sessions.
"At Citi BOCES, we believe the arts are more than subjects," said CJ Oliver, fine arts specialist. "They're the heartbeat of creativity, community and opportunity. The arts are not extra. They're essential to developing the skills our students need to thrive in a global world."
Partners include ARTSwego, a SUNY Oswego outreach program that introduces students to art forms and performances different from those offered by the mass market.
The BOCES still organizes museum visits, which is a cultural stretch for some students. "There are a lot of rural, impoverished counties, and they don't necessarily see themselves as welcome in some of these spaces," said Will Jones, arts-in-educator coordinator. "We're trying to break down that barrier."
Jones and Oliver received a warm reception when they described these initiatives at the January meeting of the state Board of Regents' P-12 committee, which is supervising work on the state's new Portrait of a Graduate.
Unveiled last year, the Portrait of a Graduate is a blueprint outlining the skills and knowledge New York students should possess upon completing high school. Graduates will be expected to be academically prepared, creative innovators, critical thinkers, effective communicators, global citizens and reflective and future-focused.
At the State Education Department (SED), the arts are considered "essential to human development," according to Santosha Oliver, assistant commissioner in SED's Office of Standards and Instruction.
The arts are also an economic engine, she said. "In some regions of New York, we've seen arts employment outpace health care. Tourism has surged, and vibrant cultural life has attracted major corporate investment, underscoring the arts as both an educational priority and an engine for community vitality."
In New York, enrollment in arts classes has been strong and steady, said David Seligman, a supervisor in the Office of Standards and Instruction. During the 2024-25 school year, about 88% of New York's 2.4 million students were enrolled in fine and performing arts courses - a category that includes music, theater, dance, visual arts, digital arts and media arts. Most students access arts classes within their own districts; others take them through their local BOCES.
However, participation rates vary. In some counties, participation is above 90%; in others, it is below 80%.
Regent Roger Tilles expressed support for making the arts a core subject in New York.
"Unfortunately, I don't think the whole state has the same kinds of arts experiences you've outlined," he said, after listening to the CiTi BOCES presentation. "You're saying you have made the arts a core subject in your area, and I think that's wonderful. But until we recognize the arts as a true core subject, we're going to get a very varied distribution of the arts."
On Jan. 26, the State Education Department announced that Tillis, who will be leaving the Board of Regents after the March meeting, will head a "Visioning Task Force" for the New York State Summer School of the Arts.
Founded in 1970 under Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, the summer school has provided exceptionally talented students from across New York State with advanced, pre-professional arts training for more than five decades. For more information, go to www.oce.nysed.gov/summerarts .