During Theatre In Our Schools Month (March) 2011, the following 31 facts about the benefits of theatre education were tweeted each day. Called TIOS TREATS, these facts may be used as tweets throughout the year to help raise the awareness of how important Theatre is in our schools.

#TIOS13 Treat No.1: Integrating drama with reading enables students to better comprehend what they’ve read
#TIOS13 Treat No.2: Coached imaginative play contributes to important social developments of children

#TIOS13 Treat No.3: Dramatic play = important vehicle 4 kids to practice & learn about literacy skills & knowledge

#TIOS13 Treat No.4: Speaking & performing before classmates cultivates speaking skills & increases self-confidence

#TIOS13 Treat No.5: Poetic interpretation accompanied by oral presentation supports both academic & social growth

#TIOS13 Treat No.6: Drama teaches interpretation, personal creativity, and new ways of looking at the same information

#TIOS13 Treat No.7: Students who take theatre are 3x more likely 2 win school attendance award than those who do not

#TIOS13 Treat No.8: Students learn to trust and develop their creative imaginations by playing engaging drama games.
#TIOS13 Treat No.9: Involvement in drama improves students’ self-esteem & confidence in academic abilities

#TIOS13 Treat No.10: Students involved in drama outscored non-arts students on the SAT by 65 pts verbal/34 pts math

#TIOS13 Treat No.11: Drama games, activities, and productions develop all of Gardner's intelligences.

#TIOS13 Treat No.12: Involvement in drama activities promotes a deepening of understanding and improved retention of the information.

#TIOS13 Treat No.13: English as a Second Language (ESL) and English Language Learners (ELL) students all benefit from theatre ed.

#TIOS13 Treat No.18: The highly verbal and quick-thinking nature of improv games provide excellent creative outlets for G&T students.

#TIOS13 Treat No.21: Low SES students involved in theatre are 8 times more likely to win a community service award

#TIOS13 Treat No.24: Improv drama contributes to improved reading achievement and attitude in disadvantaged students.

#TIOS13 Treat No.25: 93% of the public believes that arts, including theatre, are vital to a well-rounded education

#TIOS13 Treat No.29:Theatre ed engages and strengthens such fundamental cognitive capacities as spatial reasoning

#TIOS13 Treat No.31: Low SES students are also over 3x more likely to be elected to class office in school

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Please visit the following sites and sources for additional information and complete studies:

The Student Descriptive Questionnaire, a self-reported component of the SAT that gathers information about students' academic preparation, and reported by the College Entrance Examination Board. A table of average scores for arts involved students can be found here.

Carolyn Elder, Carol Hovey, and Gai Jones, California Educational Theatre Association (CETA)Position Paper,2007

Basom, Jonas, "Why Use Drama or Theatre Games", Drama Education Network

N. Barry, J. Taylor, and Kwalls, "The Role of the Fine and Performing Arts in High School Dropout Prevention,” Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Achievement and Social Development, ed. Richard Deasy (Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership, 2002) 74-75.

Sandra S. Ruppert and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, Critical Evidence: How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement (Washington, DC: National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and the Arts Education Partnership, 2006) 5.

Critical Links and Critical Evidence are among publications of the Arts Education Partnership and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. Please visit their websites for more information and to purchase publications.

James S. Catterall, Richard Chapleau, and John Iwanaga, "Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater Arts,” Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning, ed. Edward B. Fiske (Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, 1999) 1-18.

Edward B. Fiske, ed., Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning (Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, 1999) 1-18.

The Reviewing Education and the Arts Project [REAP] executive summary of The Arts and Academic Achievement: What the Evidence Shows can be found on the web at https://csmp.ucop.edu/tcap/news/08_29_00.html

Steve Seidel, "Stand and Unfold Yourself": A Monograph of the Shakespeare & Company Research Study (Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, 1999) 79-90.

L. Carlton and R.H. Moore, "The Effects of Self-Directive Dramatization on Reading Achievement and Self-Concept of Culturally Disadvantaged Children,” The Reading Teacher 6 (1966): 125-30.

A.D. Pellegrini and L. Galda, "The Effects of Thematic-Fantasy Play Training on the Development of Children’s Story Comprehension,” American Educational Research Journal 19 (1982): 443-52.

James S. Catterall, Richard Chapleau, and John Iwanaga, "Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater Arts,” Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning, ed. Edward B. Fiske (Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, 1999) 1-18.

Jeanette Horn, "An Exploration into the Writing of Original Scripts by Inner-City High School Drama Students,” Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Achievement and Social Development, ed. Richard Deasy (Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership, 2002) 28-29.

Larry Kassab, "A Poetic/Dramatic Approach to Facilitate Oral Communication,” Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Achievement and Social Development, ed. Richard Deasy (Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership, 2002) 30-31.

John Roy Kennedy, "The Effects of Musical Performance, Rational Emotive Therapy and Vicarious Experience on the Self-Efficacy and Self-Esteem of Juvenile Delinquents and Disadvantaged Children,” Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Achievement and Social Development, ed. Richard Deasy (Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership, 2002) 119-120.

Rey E. de la Cruz, "The Effects of Creative Drama on the Social and Oral Language Skills of Children with Learning Disabilities,” Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Achievement and Social Development, ed. Richard Deasy (Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership, 2002) 20-21.

Sherry DuPont, "The Effectiveness of Creative Drama as an Instructional Strategy to Enhance the Reading Comprehension Skills of Fifth-Grade Remedial Readers,” Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Achievement and Social Development, ed. Richard Deasy (Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership, 2002) 22-23.

A. Gourgey, J. Bosseau, and J. Delgado, "The Impact of an Improvisational Dramatics Program on Student Attitudes and Achievement,” Children’s Theatre Review 34 (1985): 9-14.

Performing Arts Research Coalition, The Value of Performing Arts in Five Communities: A Comparison of 2002 Household Survey Data, and The Value of Performing Arts in Five Communities 2: A comparison of 2002 Household Survey Data 2 18 August 2007

Sandra S. Ruppert and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, Critical Evidence: How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement (Washington, DC: National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and the Arts Education Partnership, 2006)