By Holly Wagner Herald-Whig Staff Writer An arts curriculum is either a luxury for schools struggling to meet new academic standards, or a necessity to prepare students to compete in the global economy of the 21st century. The federal No Child Left Behind law requires that schools test students in math and reading, but there is no standard for the arts. So when it comes to determining where districts will focus limited resources, the arts are frequently considered "nonessential." Two years ago, the Quincy School District was in such dire financial straits that it shortened the school day by one hour and eliminated the opportunity for many students to take an art class, said Kathi Dooley, the district's director of fine arts and music. "Basically the cuts that happened were really devastating," Dooley said. Last year the hour was restored -- as was much of the arts program -- and "now we're moving in the right direction." "The core of our program is within the school day, when we have trained specialists to provide arts education," Dooley said. Without support for the arts in the curriculum, "we defeat our mission to offer the best opportunity for all students, regardless of economic background." Quincy schools are hardly alone. A study released last week, commissioned by Illinois Creates, an arts advocacy group formed by the Arts Alliance and the Chicago Community Trust, indicates that Illinois districts spend about 2 to 3 percent of their budgets on the arts. A quarter of those surveyed said they have pared arts programs during the last five years. Nearly half said they have kept funding levels the same, despite spending more on education overall. A third of Illinois' elementary students and 70 percent of high schoolers have no exposure at all to arts instruction during the school day. Children in rural and small schools are the least likely to have these offerings. Illinois also fares badly when compared with other states. About 90 percent of public schools nationwide offer classes in visual arts and music instruction, while only 63 percent of Illinois schools provide visual arts classes and 78 percent have music programs. The lack of an arts curriculum threatens the creative development of Illinois' children as well as their academic and social growth, according to the study that included nearly 1,000 school superintendents and principals statewide. "The arts are a vital part of a well-rounded education because they prepare students to be creative thinkers and problem solvers," said Alene Valkanas, executive director of the Illinois Arts Alliance Foundation. "The creative industries are going to be an extremely important part of our new society, and kids who study the arts will be better situated for the future." The more ideas students are exposed to at a young age, the better, Dooley said. "The arts stay with kids through many years. When music and art are not in their world, they don't have anything to fall back on." Mike O'Neal has been teaching art at Baldwin Intermediate School since 1989 when he was hired as one of three art teachers. He served as the school's sole "art support" staffer two years ago. "That year I saw all the kids," he said. This year, he and another art teacher push carts of art supplies around the building, seeing each class for 40 minutes once a week. "I know with some kids, art is the real connection with school," O'Neal said. Kathy Hyer is the sole art teacher serving Quincy High School's 1,500-student body. She says more students would take art if there were more opportunities. In one drawing class, she has 33 students; that's all there's room for. "I want to keep the numbers up, but there comes a point where we have to stop," she said. The students who suffer are those who are not "good book learners," Hyer said. For them, lessons "stick better because they've had their hands on things." Art class provides "an opportunity to synthesize the things learned in the classroom," she said. The high school musical is a perfect example, Dooley said. Students building sets for the upcoming production of "South Pacific" are using math. As the performers learn their songs, they are also learning about geography. As they research their roles, they are learning World War II history. "That kind of thing is just really, really important," she said. Rob Dwyer, executive director of the Quincy Society of Fine Arts, calls art "the gunpowder that propels an interest in the basics." Every year when grades go home he points out that "students involved in ... arts activities score the best grades and go to school more often." As society moves into the " 'green screen' future, Dwyer said imagination will become ever more important. "It is art education that will prepare students for a future driven by imagination." State Superintendent of Education Randy Dunn called the state of arts education in Illinois "a shame." "I think the old debate about whether art is important in education is pretty much a settled issue --of course it is," Dunn said. "Clearly we want and need arts education in every school in Illinois. "I think the report is a wake-up call to me, too," said Dunn, who learned to play trombone in an Illinois public school. "There is something to be said for me using the bully pulpit to help school boards and administrators understand how vital arts education is." Some information in this story is taken from a Chicago Tribune article by Stephanie Banchero, dated Oct. 11, 2005. Contact Staff Writer Holly Wagner at (217) 221-3374 or hwagner@whig.com
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