The ideas and case materials discussed in this study can contribute to the national dialogue on education reform and the search for excellence in all areas of education. The study attempts to clarify what the arts contribute to education. While it indicates that much more needs to be done, it suggests actions and approaches which can be utilized now so that the singular contributions of the arts to children can be supported. To enter the future citizens will need the power, thinking, creativity, discipline, energy, and unique forms of apprehending and organizing knowledge that the arts offer. Some key findings of the study include: (1) the arts can foster the development of students who are engaged actively in learning; (2) the arts contribute to the development of a creative, committed, and exciting school culture of teachers, students, and parents; (3) the arts play a role in generating a dynamic, coordinated, and cohesive curriculum; (4) the arts can build bridges to the larger community, the broader culture, and other institutions; (5) the arts can humanize the learning environment; and (6) the arts contribute to improved academic performance. The schools and the eight exemplary models identified in this study are examples of excellence, and each of the programs is discussed and related to the key finding of the study. Four significant sets of implications emerged from the study. The first set is concerned with the general contours of an emerging comprehensive arts education model; the second is concerned with the model's connection to excellent education; the third pertains to ways such a model might be implemented more broadly; and the fourth concerns the characteristics of further assessment research that would advance the understanding of the model and its effects. (DK)