Every child deserves the opportunity to create. Whether it is through painting, music, theater, dance, photography, creative writing, or digital media, the arts give students ways to express themselves, explore ideas, and discover abilities they may not realize they possess. During National Arts in Education Week, September 13–19, 2026 , schools, families, artists, and communities across the country celebrate the important role arts education plays in helping young people learn and grow. National Arts in Education Week has its roots in a 2010 congressional resolution supporting the designation of the week beginning on the second Sunday of September as Arts in Education Week. The resolution recognized the arts as an important part of education and encouraged communities and elected officials to raise awareness about their value. For generations, subjects such as music, visual arts, theater, and dance have sometimes been treated as extra activities to be offered only when school schedules and budgets allow. But arts education is much more than an extracurricular activity. Under Every Student Succeeds Act, music and the arts are specifically included among the subjects that can contribute to a well-rounded education. The National Endowment for the Arts also emphasizes that arts education can help students develop creative thinking skills, self-expression, engagement, and opportunities for personal growth. When students create something themselves, learning becomes active. A child painting a picture makes choices about color, shape, composition, and meaning. A student learning an instrument develops patience through repeated practice. A young actor must listen, remember, interpret, and collaborate with others. A dancer learns discipline, movement, timing, and persistence. A student creating a film or photograph learns to communicate ideas through images. These experiences teach skills that extend far beyond an art classroom. One of the most powerful aspects of arts education is that there is rarely only one correct way to create. Students are encouraged to experiment, make mistakes, try again, and develop their own ideas. That process can help build confidence and resilience. For a child who struggles in a traditional academic environment, an art room, music class, theater production, or dance program may also become the place where that student finally discovers something at which they excel. That discovery matters. Every student needs opportunities to experience success. The arts can provide another doorway into learning — one that allows students with different abilities, interests, backgrounds, and learning styles to participate and contribute. Research has found meaningful associations between participation in the arts and a range of positive student outcomes. The National Endowment for the Arts has reported that arts education is linked with academic achievement as well as social and emotional development. Research involving students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds has also found associations between strong arts participation and outcomes such as higher educational achievement, college enrollment, career aspirations, and civic engagement. The arts can also support emotional well-being. Creative activities give young people constructive ways to explore feelings, tell their stories, connect with other people, and process experiences that may be difficult to express with words alone. Those benefits can be particularly important during childhood and adolescence, when students are still developing their identities and learning how to understand the world around them. Arts education is not valuable only for students who intend to become professional artists. Creativity is needed everywhere. Engineers design. Entrepreneurs imagine new products. Scientists develop new approaches to problems. Writers communicate ideas. Architects combine creativity with mathematics and engineering. Technology professionals design everything from websites and video games to digital experiences. Healthcare professionals frequently rely on observation, communication, creativity, and problem-solving. The ability to imagine something that does not yet exist — and then determine how to create it — is one of the fundamental skills developed through the arts. Although the benefits of arts education are widely recognized, not every student has equal access to high-quality arts programs. Schools serving disadvantaged communities can face limited resources, fewer specialized instructors, and reduced opportunities for students to participate in arts learning. That makes access an important part of the National Arts in Education Week conversation. The National Endowment for the Arts has made expanding access to arts education, particularly for students who have the fewest opportunities, an important part of their arts education work. The goal should not be to reserve arts education for students whose families can afford private music lessons, dance classes, theater programs, or art supplies. Creative opportunities should be available to every child.  National Arts in Education Week is also an opportunity to recognize the teachers and professionals who make those experiences possible. Arts educators do far more than teach students how to paint, perform, dance, sing, or play an instrument. They encourage students to take chances. They teach them that improvement takes practice. They show them that mistakes can become part of the creative process. They introduce students to cultures, histories, artists, ideas, and perspectives beyond their own experiences. And sometimes, they become the person who recognizes a talent in a child before that child recognizes it in themselves. During National Arts in Education Week, we celebrate those educators, the schools and organizations that support them, and most importantly, the students whose imaginations they inspire. Because education should do more than teaching young people what the world already knows. It should also give them confidence and creativity to imagine what the world could become. National Endowment for the Arts. (n.d.). Arts education. https://www.arts.gov/impact/arts-education ; National Endowment for the Arts. (2025). Educating ourselves about childhood arts experiences—and why they matter. https://www.arts.gov/stories/blog/2025/educating-ourselves-about-childhood-arts-experiences-and-why-they-matter ; National Endowment for the Arts. (n.d.). Back to school with arts education. https://www.arts.gov/back-school-arts-education ; National Endowment for the Arts. (2012). New NEA research report shows potential benefits of arts education for at-risk youth. https://www.arts.gov/news/press-releases/2012/new-nea-research-report-shows-potential-benefits-arts-education-risk-youth ; U.S. Congress. (2010). H. Con. Res. 275: Expressing support for designation of the week beginning on the second Sunday of September as Arts in Education Week. 111th Congress. https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-concurrent-resolution/275 ; U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Arts Education National Program. https://www.ed.gov/grants-and-programs/grants-birth-grade-12/well-rounded-education-grants/arts-education-national-program ; U.S. Department of Education, Assistance for Arts Education Center. (n.d.). Arts education resources. https://aaec.ed.gov/ed-arts-education-resources

Each year, National Folic Acid Awareness Week brings attention to one of the simplest steps people can take to support a healthy pregnancy and reduce the risk of certain serious birth defects. In 2026, the observance is recognized September 13–19. Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate, also known as vitamin B9. Folate plays an essential role in helping the body make new cells, including blood, brain, skin, hair, and nail cells. Although everyone needs folate, folic acid is especially important for people who may become pregnant because of the critical role it plays during the earliest weeks of fetal development. One of the most important benefits of folic acid is its ability to help prevent neural tube defects. These are serious birth defects involving the developing brain and spinal cord. Two of the best-known neural tube defects are spina bifida, which affects the spine, and anencephaly, which affects the brain and skull. What makes folic acid awareness especially important is timing. The neural tube begins forming and closing during the third and fourth weeks of pregnancy. At that point, many people may not yet realize that they are pregnant. For that reason, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all women who are capable of becoming pregnant get 400 micrograms of folic acid every day, rather than waiting until pregnancy is confirmed. Folic acid can be obtained in several ways. It is commonly included in multivitamins and prenatal vitamins and is also added to many fortified foods. These may include enriched bread, pasta, rice, breakfast cereals, flour, and some corn masa products. Naturally occurring folate can also be found in foods such as leafy green vegetables, beans, peas, oranges, and other fruits. However, naturally occurring folate and folic acid are not the same. Folic acid is more stable than many forms of food, folate and is the form that has been shown through research to help prevent neural tube defects. Eating a nutritious diet remains important, but fortified foods or a vitamin containing folic acid can help ensure that the recommended daily amount is reached. Folic acid also serves important functions beyond pregnancy. Because folate is necessary for DNA production, cell division, and the creation of new cells, adequate intake is important throughout life. For some individuals, the recommended amount of folic acid may be different. People who previously had a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect, take certain medications, or have medical conditions may be advised by a healthcare professional to take a higher amount. Higher doses should be discussed with a physician or other qualified healthcare provider rather than started independently. National Folic Acid Awareness Week is ultimately about education and prevention. Many pregnancies are unplanned, and the development that folic acid helps protect occurs very early. Making adequate folic acid intake part of everyday nutrition helps provide protection before pregnancy even begins. A vitamin measured in micrograms may seem insignificant, but its impact can be enormous.  This National Folic Acid Awareness Week, the message is simple: learn about folic acid, check food and vitamin labels, and understand why getting enough of this essential nutrient every day can make such an important difference. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2026). About folic acid. https://www.cdc.gov/folic-acid/about/index.html Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2026). Folic acid: Sources and recommended intake. https://www.cdc.gov/folic-acid/about/intake-and-sources.html Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). Neural tube defects. https://www.cdc.gov/birth-defects/about/neural-tube-defects.html Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2026). Folic acid: Facts for clinicians. https://www.cdc.gov/folic-acid/hcp/clinical-overview/index.html National Birth Defects Prevention Network. (2026). National Folic Acid Awareness Week. https://nbdpn.org/national-folic-acid-awareness-week/ National Birth Defects Prevention Network. (2026). Resources: National Folic Acid Awareness Week. https://nbdpn.org/resources/