Dive Brief:

• Baltimore City Council President Bernard "Jack" Young has called a meeting for school officials to explain to council members the extent to which the city's students are lacking a "complete education". 
• Young is particularly concerned with the lack of arts and gym classes taking place in city schools, arguing in a press release that this "incomplete curriculum" is not fair and does a disservice to Baltimore's youth.  
• The Baltimore Sun recently published an article detailing the city's lack of arts programming, and has in the past documented Baltimore parents' fight for more recess time since P.E. is often not found in school.  

Dive Insight:

Young's desire for Baltimore students to gain a full spectrum of educational tools runs counter to the national rhetoric surrounding the Common Core, which focuses primarily on math and reading skills.  

Young, however, does not believe those are the only two areas students must master or appreciate to be successful individuals. As he says in a press release, "A focus on basic education that leaves arts education and physical education aside ignores the competencies demanded by the complex, modern world in which Baltimore City Public Schools students are expected to thrive.  This modern world requires leaders that are innovative, creative and have received a strong, broad, complete education from a young age."