Education First

Pressure, pressure, pressure. Students in all grades can be under an enormous amount of pressure to succeed while in school. Kindergartners must learn to read, add, and subtract before they finish their first year of school. In some places, students must pass certain state tests in order to be promoted to the next grade level. More and more emphasis is being placed on the importance of a rigorous academic program for middle- and high-school students, with the end result of attending a college or university. Is all this necessary? Well, legislators, the president, and local district officials believe so. Many parents also agree that kids need to graduate from high school ready to go on to college. Leaders of Pittsburgh Public Schools and of Pittsburgh itself plan to institute a new plan to motivate even more students to seek out a college education.

The Pittsburgh Schools have issued what it calls “The Pittsburgh Promise,” pledging that starting in 2008, all graduates who meet certain Pittsburgh Schools standards will have the means of getting post-secondary education. Wow! What a great idea! There are most likely some Pittsburgh Schools students who dont even dream of going to college, simply because their families cant afford it. Imagine, if you will, a Pittsburgh Schools family of blue-collar workers who have not had any of its members attend college. It is their dream for their children to go to college and have a better life; if this new program is indeed successful, this dream will most likely become a reality!

The Pittsburgh Schools district and the city hope to raise 5 million to 7 million a year to make college or other post-secondary education affordable. To access the money, Pittsburgh Schools students will have to attend one of the Pittsburgh Schools, do their work, stay out of trouble, and graduate. Its truly admirable to see that the city leaders, community leaders and the Pittsburgh Schools leaders recognize the difficulties that lay in the path of some of these students to actually attend college.

More and more, even some blue-collar jobs are requiring a minimum of a 2-year degree. Firefighters, carpenters, even cosmetologists can attend a community college where they receive the training their prospective employers are looking for. The students of Pittsburgh Schools who are on the vocational path will now have the opportunity to go to college, no matter what their familys financial situation might be. What a wonderful graduation gift Pittsburgh Schools students could receive upon leaving high school! Since society and the government are forever clamoring about how far behind our students are as compared to other students around the world, kudos to Pittsburgh Schools and the city of Pittsburgh for doing their part to get more kids in college.

Art programs, such as art appreciation, drama, theater and music, have been suffering across the nation for 30 years, as school officials concentrate on the basics of learning. With federal programs, such as No Child Left Behind, even more focus has been placed on basic learning skills, which excludes the arts. This also means that any extra funding is funneled into these basic learning programs in order to meet state and federal-set standards. Arts education is one of the standards that should be met by schools within the state of California, yet the state does not impose penalties on schools that do not met these particular standards.

A statewide survey by SRI International concluded that of the 1,123 schools surveyed:

89 percent failed to meet state standards for arts education;
Nearly 13 offered no art education coursework that met state standards;
61 percent had no full-time arts specialist, with classroom teachers without adequate training teaching arts education at the elementary level;
Kindergarten through 12 enrollment in music classes declined by 37 percent over a five-year period, ending last June; and
Poor schools have the least access to arts education; whereas better income schools (where parents can afford private lessons) are more apt to have it.

Chris Funk is the San Jose schools principal of Lincoln High School, a stellar magnet arts school. He believes that the more San Jose schools students are exposed to the arts the better they will do in testing within other coursework.

Studies have proven that a strong arts program can be linked to improvement in everything from math skills to truancy. Arts education in elementary and secondary schools produce skilled sculptors, actors, musicians, singers and so many other arts-related careers. The arts also improve the socialization skills of students.

Bill Eriendson, assistant superintendent of the San Jose schools, stated that the level of funding for the arts is inadequate. Last year, the state budgeted 500 million for the arts and physical education; however, this amount was a one-time deal. The norm is 105 million, which is about 15 per student. According to Eriendson, the San Jose schools requires about 800,000 to restore just their music programs at the elementary San Jose schools. This figure does not include the purchase of instruments.

San Jose schools are a good representation of the statewide findings. Besides trying to meet state and federal standards in the basic coursework, the San Jose schools were hit with Proposition 13 that was passed in 1978, which imposed tax cuts for Californians and greatly reduced funding for arts education. The arts were first cut in the secondary San Jose schools and then in the elementary San Jose schools. By the late 1980s, arts education was all but gone in the San Jose schools.

According to Funk, there currently is a waiting list of 225 San Jose schools students. He finds San Jose schools students are drawn to the dance, theater, music and visual arts programs offered by his school. Without the support of the Lincoln Foundation, which donated 75,000 for this school year, this San Jose schools arts magnet would not exist.