The value of arts education, too often seen as a second- or third-tier priority in the schooling of our children, has been undersold for years, a problem that has only grown worse with the advent of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Grammy Award-winning record producer George Kahumoku Jr. recently bemoaned flagging support for music and arts education in Hawai'i schools. It's a complaint echoed around the nation: NCLB emphasizes testing students on basic competencies rather than the arts, so the money follows that direction.

And this disturbing trend overlooks the fact that excellence in art, music or drama frequently can be a student's first academic success, motivating them to stay in school and work toward overall achievement.

Beyond the self-esteem issue, studies have shown a clear link between, for example, musical performance and cognitive development, a tie that should not be ignored.

The federal government seems to be of two minds on this. Contrasting with the arts disincentive in NCLB, the U.S. Department of Education has awarded grants to fund arts education and research in Hawai'i and elsewhere. Last summer a $1 million, four-year grant was approved to research the effects of arts education on the overall academic experience. The main goal is to develop an arts curriculum.

Let's not then turn around and scuttle such aims in the process of reauthorizing No Child Left Behind this year. Congress must take this opportunity to find ways of ensuring that arts education is secure through a combination of curriculum and extra-curricular links with community arts resources.

The arts are an essential part of our humanity, and they're essential to any well-rounded education.