As Massachusetts schools prepare to implement sweeping changes in arts education, the position of a key administer is currently empty and its fate remains uncertain.
Lurline Munoz-Bennett retired in June, leaving the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Schools (DESE) without an arts education and equity coordinator, a position she held for more than a dozen years. DESE’s hesitation to name a full-time replacement for the role has arts educators and advocates concerned that there will be little oversight for the implementation of a statewide initiative that started in 2017 to improve arts education and of a new arts curriculum expected to be finalized this year.
Munoz-Bennett’s job is currently being divided between existing positions, according to Jacqueline Reis, media coordinator for DESE. “The position involved responsibilities in two areas,” her statement reads. “The arts education work, which is substantial as we have just begun the process of collaborating with educators to revise the 1999 Arts Curriculum Framework, is being taken over by a different member of the Center for Instructional Support. The equity work, and specifically the job as serving as staff liaison to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Racial Imbalance Advisory Council, is being handled by the Center for Educational Options.”