Arts-in-education is comprised of organizations which send visual artists, musicians, dancers, actors, etc, into public elementary and high schools to enhance various curricula. Some of these organizations in New York City include LEAP, (Learning through an Expanded Arts Program), Artsgenesis, and Studio-in-a-School. Museums often have their own arts-in-education departments as well.
Ideally, the artist and the regular classroom teacher will work together to decide on a theme, and continue to collaborate throughout the residency, which may last anywhere from one day to one year. The arts are used to broaden the teacher's methods and provide the students with motivation for learning. Some examples of projects include Poetry and Dance about the Civil War, Murals of the Community, Bookmaking for Literacy, Tapdancing Fractions, etc.
Funding for the arts-in-education organization usually comes from the Public Art Fund, which is government money which the schools receive and use to purchase the programs of their choice. Sometimes the money is awarded to the school from a private foundation for said purpose. The organizations became most successful in the economy of the 1990's. This year, art programs like these are faltering because PAF was cut in half as one aspect the larger problem of school budget cuts in NYC.