Turnaround Arts is a national program created by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in coordination with the White House, the U.S. Department of Education and several foundations, to bring arts education programing and resources to high-poverty elementary and middle schools across the country. It’s the first federal program to specifically support arts education as an improvement tool in high-poverty, underperforming schools.

There are currently 49 Turnaround Arts schools in 14 states across the country and the District of Columbia involving 22,000 of the country's highest need students. Extensive information is available here. 

The program works in schools that started out in the lowest performing five percent of the state, but are working hard to close the achievement gap and turn around their school. Turnaround Arts: MN is funded through monies from the U.S. and Minnesota governments.

Education as an improvement tool in high-poverty, underperforming schools.