On Monday night, October 4, 2004, more than 12 MMSD Fine Arts teachers attended the School Board meeting. Four of those teachers read a letter to the School Board asking for the Fine Arts Coordinator position to be filled. They also asked that a community committee be formed to develop a fine arts vision for the district that would include an assessment of the current fine arts curricula. A summary of the points in the letter (which can be downloaded) includes:
Fine Arts Coordinator (FAC)
- Thank you for reinstating the portion of the Fine Arts Coordinator position that works with teachers. (The existing ½ time position was funded by Fund 80 and would not have supported the 140+ teachers in 47 schools.)
- Need a professional in the field to fill the vacant position
- Need someone soon
- Hire an interim FAC much like a long-term sub until a full-time professional is hired
- In next budget, look across all professional support staff over the the FAC cut from 2 FTE to 0 FTE. The ½ Fund 80 position isnt able to work with staff
Fine Arts Vision
- Fine Arts have curricula in MMSD
- Fine Arts have standards in MMSD
- Overture and UW have their vision for the role of art in the community MMSD needs to do the same
- Form a community committee community assessment of the fine arts in schools and development of fine arts vision for the MMSD with goals, budget, etc.
Posted by Barb Schrank at October 5, 2004 02:39 PM | TrackBack