Centering the Arts in Public Schools

There’s a quote from me in the Red Bluff High School yearbook from 1993: “I owe everything to my time in the Gold Show!” I was being a snarky teenager back then, but on reflection it’s true. From junior high through my first years in high school, I was so painfully shy I wouldn’t look anyone in the eye. Being part of the choir from freshman year on helped me find my voice and my confidence, and by junior year I somehow found the courage to try out for the role of soprano in the performance choir.

Students say, “The arts saved me”

In high school, my involvement in theater and music helped me find my community, my purpose and my people. That’s why in 2010, when I heard that Chico Unified was starting a charter school founded by the teachers I admired and centered in the arts and sciences, I called everyone I knew to see how I could get in on the ground floor. Since joining the Inspire School of Arts & Sciences community as an English teacher 12 years ago, I’ve heard some version of “the arts saved me” story from countless students.

Students at Inspire have a broad range of elective choices in the arts and sciences. They can choose from more than 80 elective courses, or dive deep into sequenced college and career pathways in their chosen discipline. Our arts offerings include Theatre, Technical Theatre and Musical Theatre; Vocal and Instrumental Music; Recording Arts; Dance; Visual Arts; and Digital Media Arts. Students say they love the opportunity to work with master teachers who are not only experts in their subject areas, but are also artists and creatives outside the classroom.

Inspire Principal/Superintendent says the school helps students find their best selves. Photo by Amber Thompson.

Arts help students learn skills for their chosen careers

Across disciplines in their arts classes, students learn the skills necessary to be successful in their chosen careers. They connect with industry experts through job shadowing, guest speakers and other partnerships with business people and artists. They collaborate with each other to conceive and follow through on a design or project. They experience the joy of individual expression, as well as the joy of working with a team to create a video, art piece, or performance.

Learning to storyboard a video, choreograph a dance, design a theater set or master tracks on a recording gives students the confidence to move forward in life beyond high school. It gives them a vision of what their future can be. It affirms the importance of creative contributions that promote community growth.

Historically, the arts have been the first to go in schools during a budget crisis. The past two decades saw a drastic decline in arts education as schools moved to prioritize student achievement in core subjects that could be captured by standardized tests.

Arts in school helps students thrive and become well-rounded

The research shows, however, that when students experience deep learning opportunities in the arts, they thrive. According to the Brookings Institute, “A substantial increase in arts educational experiences has remarkable impacts on students’ academic, social, and emotional outcomes.” In fact, students who have access to the arts in school have fewer discipline issues, enhanced academic outcomes, a feeling of connection to their schools and higher levels of college aspiration.

At Inspire, these conclusions are borne out over and over. We see it in the stories of our students every day. Alisa says her experience in vocal music was “a time when I felt safe to dream big and push myself past my comfort zone.” Ben says his experience in theater arts meant, “I was ready for the expectations of a conservatory style training after high school, and every job I get builds on the last.”

For students who pursue careers in the sciences, exposure to the arts helps them build their capacity for connection and creative thinking. Duncan says, “Inspire is the perfect place for students to see the intersectionality of disciplines and grow as well-rounded people, not just single-minded students.”

Re-envisioning high school with creativity as a central value

I’m so grateful to be part of a school community that understands the essential nature of learning in the arts as we develop young citizens. Our programs re-envision the high school experience with creativity as a central value. Saying, “art saves us” is not an idealistic sentiment, but a profound reality. Robert Lynch, President of Americans for the Arts says, “The arts empower. The arts give a voice to the voiceless. The arts help transform American communities and, as I often say, the result can be a better child, a better town, a better nation and certainly a better world.”

For the past 12 years, Inspire’s arts programs have focused on allowing students to find their best selves. What we’re seeing now in the stories of our alumni are the implications for arts education in cultivating better towns, a better nation, and a better world.

To find out more about Inspire School of Arts & Sciences, or to discover ways you can support our efforts, visit http://www.inspirechico.org.