the Opening Minds through the Arts Foundation) provides professional development for teachers and program planning and implementation for schools and school districts. AiS has developed a set of tenets that are the basis for arts integration and a cycle that helps teachers develop daily lessons in math, science, reading and writing that use the arts to fully engage students. AiS has developed programming for use of arts integration in teaching the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math) and Literacy. Art education obstacles The three major skills in education that are considered the “core” subjects to teach students include math, writing, and reading comprehension. These important areas are considered by many the tools for success for student achievement. A consequence of predominately emphasizing these three areas of academic study is a lack of attention to other major areas of academics, mainly the arts. Viewing the arts as insignificant has had a major impact on teaching creativity to students. No Child Left Behind The importance of teaching the arts to students has recently been viewed as less essential than teaching other core studies, particularly by school administrators. Educational institutions are attempting to maintain federal standards to receive government funding. These standards focus predominantly on subjects such as English and math and are also highly emphasized during standardized testing. If schools can improve student achievement within these areas, they do not become vulnerable to a loss or reduction in federal funding. Robin Pogrebin of the New York Times states, “In a time when President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” policy emphasizes test results, the arts do not easily lend themselves to quantifiable measurements”. Therefore, schools are placing a large emphasis on teaching students to excel in these areas of study. This includes more time allotted for the instruction of these classes as well as a large amount of the school budget to enhance these courses. School budgets While a sizable amount of the educational budget is spent on these important areas of academic study, schools are finding that there is less money for what some would consider as non-essential courses, such as higher level music and art. According to the academic journal The Electronic Musician, “On March 2, 2011, both the House and Senate agreed to eliminate a number of small education programs at the U.S. Department of Education, including the complete defunding of the Arts in Education program, a $40 million