Four New York City schools won federal attention and funding to expand arts education, with the help of celebrities Misty Copeland, Edward Norton, Marc Anthony and Paula Abdul. 

The announcement on Wednesday came from leaders of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, a White House advisory committee on cultural issues, which worked with the federal Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Arts as well as corporate and foundation partners and individuals. The program, known as Turnaround Arts, helps low-performing elementary and middle schools across the country with a range of arts education services, including $25,000 in arts supplies and musical instruments.

"Through Turnaround Arts we've seen improved outcomes," said Mary Schmidt Campbell, the vice-chair of the arts committee. "We've also seen students benefiting from a rich, well-rounded education that encourages their passions and  builds upon what they really want to do, and what they know they can do."

All four New York City schools are based in Brooklyn. P.S. 165 Ida Posner is paired with Paula Abdul; P.S. 284 Lew Wallace is with Misty Copeland; East Flatbush Middle School gets Edward Norton; Ebbets Field Middle School will work with Marc Anthony.

"All of our artists are incredibly involved," Campbell said. "They usually make multiple visits to the schools over the course of a couple of years. They teach classes. They meet with parents. They work with kids." 

The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities published a report on arts education in 2011. In highlighting the “equity gap” of unequal access to the arts in high-poverty schools, the report inspired the Turnaround Arts program which now works with schools in 27 school districts and 15 states.