The following letter was submitted to the Madison papers today.
Dear Editor:
What joy I experience when I attend performances at the new Overture Center for the Performing Arts! I’ve been to a variety of free and paid performances, including the MSO and Kanopy Dance. Thank you Jerry Frautschi and Pleasant Rowland for your gift to the City of Madison, your vision for a vibrant arts community, and your support for the city’s economic and cultural future. Yet sadly, we are in danger of this joy not lasting into the future.
The problem is not Madison’s citizens. Their support for arts organizations is impressive. The Great Performance Fund is a major step in that direction, and the UW-Madison is undertaking a major renovation and investment in the arts as well. These foundations are critical to the support of a vibrant Madison future, but they are not sufficient.
What is missing? We are lacking a commitment to a strong Fine Arts foundation in the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), which serves nearly 25,000 students.
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Overture Center Soars while MMSD Fine Arts Curriculum Sinks
Dear Editor,
What joy I experience when I attend performances at the new Overture Center for the Performing Arts! I’ve been to a variety of free and paid performances, including the MSO and Kanopy Dance. Thank you Jerry Frautschi and Pleasant Rowland for your gift to the City of Madison, your vision for a vibrant arts community, and your support for the city’s economic and cultural future. Yet sadly, we are in danger of this joy not lasting into the future.
The problem is not Madison’s citizens. Their support for arts organizations is impressive. The Great Performance Fund is a major step in that direction, and the UW-Madison is undertaking a major renovation and investment in the arts as well. These foundations are critical to the support of a vibrant Madison future, but they are not sufficient.
What is missing? We are lacking a commitment to a strong Fine Arts foundation in the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), which serves nearly 25,000 students. Over the past 5 years, delivery of the Fine Arts curriculum in the district has been deteriorating: classes have been eliminated; staff has been reduced; some teachers are required to travel to 5 schools to teach; no Fine Arts Coordinator is in place; and the District’s own School Board approved curriculum and its standards are not being evaluated before making administrative decisions. Today’s public school students are not getting the Fine Arts academics outlined in national and state standards and there is danger that this downward spiral will continue.
What needs to happen? A first step is commitment to the existing Fine Arts curriculum and its standards, and this commitment must come from the School Board and the Superintendent. Their actions to date do not demonstrate support for the curriculum or the community’s values for our children. The next step is funding. The District’s current Fine Arts budget is about 3% of the total budget for all K-12 music, art, dance, etc., and costs districtwide about $200-250 per participant. Cuts to already cost-effective Fine Arts classes make curriculum delivery more ineffective and inefficient — the District will end up paying more for less.
Who suffers the most? Low-income children — who are predominantly minority children — are affected more than any other children. These children simply do not have the same opportunities outside public school to take private lessons or to perform in private organizations. Public schools provide the opportunity to open a child’s world to possibility.
Does the quality of Fine Arts education matter? Absolutely. Research shows that Fine Arts education directly benefits children in other academic areas, especially math and reading. Why shouldn’t these benefits be available for Madison’s public school children?
Madison’s school children need to know that the community will help them by contacting Board members (comments@madison.k12.wi.us ). We need to come together with the School Board to develop a vision for Fine Arts education that will benefit Madison’s future performers and educate its future audiences.
Barbara M. Schrank, Ph.D., former management consultant
Currently, Artist and Spouse of MSO Principal Bassist and MMSD Teacher
www.schoolinfosystem.org