Numbers and stories: demonstrating value

The Time In Children’s Arts Initiative is an art-centric educational program designed to improve children’s intellectual, aesthetic, and social-emotional capacity. Each week, Time In brings children from some of the city’s most under-resourced public schools to either Time In’s Chelsea art studio, or one of the city’s art museums and galleries. Time In requested a Capstone team to examine its practices and help communicate to potential funders, educators, and the public what distinguishes the program from other arts-based activities. The team conducted a literature review of research on early childhood cognitive development, aesthetic growth, and social-emotional learning to identify metrics that can be used to evaluate Time In’s outcomes. These metrics were then adapted for use in a survey to teachers, staff, and parents, the results of which will allow Time In staff to identify their successes and challenges more effectively.