Grant funding allows students to find their place in the arts
August 19, 2016
Students’ access to the arts is on the rise in Lexington County School District One.
Two schools, Pleasant Hill Middle and White Knoll Middle, recently received another round of grant funding from the S.C. Arts Commission to enhance art offerings, purchase equipment and give students the chance to learn from professional artists.
Both schools received an Arts in Basic Curriculum grant worth approximately $9,000 for the 2016–2017 school year. WKMS is in its second year of the three-year grant, while PHMS is in its third year with plans to reapply for additional funding.
At WKMS, earlier grant funding from the S.C. Arts Commission was spent on improving the facilities students use to explore an array of art forms and showcase their own creativity. Among the items purchased were brand-new flooring for the dance classroom, rehearsal blocks for the theater room and a bass for the orchestra.
The school also welcomed a storyteller, who spent the day at WKMS doing performances and talking with students who showed promise and interest in creative writing.
The purchases allowed WKMS to move forward in creating a 21st century arts program, said Debb Adams, WKMS theater director and drama teacher.
“The arts … help the students understand what it means to be human and to contribute to our world in meaningful ways,” she added. “We believe the arts are integral to the students’ emotional, cognitive and psychomotor growth.”
Teachers at PHMS focused on bringing in artists-in-residence to inspire their students. The school welcomed artists including Bob Doster for a lesson on metalworking, the Be Kind Crew for an anti-bullying dance session and the Columbia Children’s Theatre for workshop on stage combat.
In the final year of the grant, PHMS plans to invite artists-in-residence into core classrooms to promote arts integration into all areas of study.
“Giving students access to the arts is not just important, it is vital to developing creativity, resilience and camaraderie in students,” said Jessica Robbins, PHMS assistant principal. “We have seen that students who are involved in Arts classes find a place to belong in the school community.”
This summer, WKMS teachers submitted a list of their classroom needs, which will be prioritized to spend the grant funding efficiently. Adams said the school may purchase a new spotlight for its Little Theater and invest in new sound equipment and art display cases, as well as bring in an author or performer recommended by the S.C. Arts Commission.
“According to the students themselves, arts classes have ‘saved my life,’ are ‘the reason I come to school every day,’ … ‘helped me come out of my shell,’ and ‘(push) me to do better each day,’” Adams said of students’ response to the arts.
Lexington District One administrators are working with teachers to obtain additional Arts in Basic Curriculum grants for elementary and high schools.
