Cray-Pas Wonderful Colorful World Contest: the Importance of Art in Schools.

Business & News Editors/Education Writers

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HAYWARD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 2000

"SAT scores of students who studied arts for more than four years were 59 points higher on the verbal portion and 44 points higher on the math portion than were the scores of students with no course work or experience in the arts." This 1995 study by the College entrance Examination Board reveals the importance of art in education. It also validates the Cray-Pas(R) "Wonderful Colorful World" contest that has the mission to encourage and reward art education in schools.

Many other reports show that school budgets are continually slashed in art education year after year. In an effort to counteract those budget cuts, Sakura of America is holding their seventh annual Cray-Pas' 2001 "Wonderful Colorful World Contest" open to K-8 teachers and their students.

Participating teachers find the contest rewarding to their students. David Cheney, 1st place winning teacher in the Cray-Pas 2000 says, "Participating in the Cray-Pas contest has given my students more confidence in themselves to excel in other areas as well--socially and academically." If the College Entrance Examination Board studies hold true, Mr. Cheney's students may have a better chance of getting into top universities with higher scores and more well-rounded skills.

In an article published by Brown University, Study of Arts, Music May Enhance Young Pupils' Math and Reading Skills (1998), Martin F. Gardiner showed similar results at the elementary school level. "First Grade students who receive visual and musical arts training as a regular part of classroom studies showed improved reading skills and were significantly ahead in math skills compared to control groups in other first grade classrooms. By second grade, the group of students who received the arts training again were significantly ahead of the control group on math skills," the article reported.

Gardiner concludes, "Learning may be a much more rich experience than we currently understand. If Art and Music are cut from a curriculum, you may be losing more than the piece you're leaving out."

Teachers who inherently understand this concept pay for art supplies out of their own pocket. But few can afford to do so. According to Patricia Broderick, Vice President and Editorial Director of Teaching K-8, teachers spend an average of $400 to $1,000 per year.

Sakura of America drew over 17,000 entries for each of the last two years. "We are going to send three teachers to Paris next year and give schools over $1,000 in art materials. We hope the rewards and recognition the students, teachers, and schools receive from the contest will encourage districts to increase art budgets and recognize the importance of art education for children's overall development," says Donna Wilson, Director of Marketing for Sakura of America.

Wilson adds "We are especially interested in seeing Art integrated with Science, Math, and Social Studies by non-art teachers. Our future depends on our children's ability to see our world in creative, new ways."

Cray-Pas pastels were invented 75 years ago in Japan to bring a professional-quality art material to children at an affordable price. Designed to combine wax crayons' ease of use with more sophisticated artistic qualities provided by soft pastels, Cray-Pas were born. Cray-Pas are available in three different levels from student to professional artist: Junior Artist(R), Expressionist(R), and Specialist(R). They also come in over 100 colors and in packs as few as 12 and as many as 88.

Headquartered in Hayward, CA, Sakura of America is the U.S. subsidiary of privately held, Sakura Color Products Corp. of Osaka, Japan. Besides making Cray-Pas, Sakura manufactures the popular Gelly Roll(R) gel pen, as well as an extensive array of other high-quality writing instruments and art materials. Go to www.gellyroll.com for more information on the "Cray-Pas Wonderful Colorful World Contest, 2001."

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