SCHOOLS TRY TO BOOST ARTS TEST-SCORE EMPHASIS AFFECTS SOME PROGRAMS.Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer BURBANK - With just a few quick cues, teacher Lydia Shin leads the sixth-grade choir through breathing and jumping exercises, then singing and scale work before culminating with a stirring rendition of ``America the Beautiful America the Beautiful patriotic song by Katherine Bates glorifying national ideals (1893). [Am. Music: Scholes, 30] See : Song, Patriotic .'' The Musical Mustangs at John Muir Middle School A middle school part of the Huron Valley School District located in Milford, MI. It is located in Milford, MI in Oakland County, MI. It is directly across the street from Baker Elementary. Muir Middle School serves grades 6 through 8. The mascot is the Hawkeye. have a lot to learn this year since most of them matriculated from elementary schools elementary school: see school. where music wasn't part of the curriculum. Some of the students have taken private piano lessons, but most have little or no musical experience. ``I have a variety, but I have to start from square one,'' Shin said. ``If they continue to get more exposure in the elementary level, it will continue to expand their education once they get to here. And if everything was as it should be, I wouldn't have to start from scratch to start (again) from the very beginning; also, to start without resources. - Thackeray. See also: Scratch .'' All Burbank Unified elementary schools give instruction in visual arts visual arts npl → artes fpl plásticas visual arts npl → arts mpl plastiques visual arts npl → , but only some provide lessons in dance, drama and music during the day. And others are able to supplement the regular curriculum with programs supported by parents and community donations. Bret Harte Elementary, for instance, offers after-school programs in theater, dance, instrumental music and chorus. And most of the teachers have received training at the Getty Center Getty Center, art museum complex in Brentwood, Calif. operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust. It consists of six buildings on 124 acres (50 hectares) located on a spectacular promontory overlooking Los Angeles. , which helps them give visual arts instruction in class. But even at Bret Harte there are constraints on arts education, said Principal Diane Berger. ``With the emphasis on standards and test scores, there are time constraints because our No. 1 responsibility needs to be to address the academic standards,'' Berger said. The district has strong arts programming at its six secondary schools, with 28 teachers providing instruction in the visual arts, music, drama and dance, said Alexis Sheehy, assistant superintendent Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was a rank used by police forces in the British Empire. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held by a European officer, most of whom joined the police at this rank. for instructional services. Muir Middle School band teacher Suzie Snell Snell , George 1903-1996. American geneticist. He shared a 1980 Nobel Prize for discoveries concerning cell structure that enhanced understanding of the immunological system, resulting in higher success rates in organ transplantation. said, like her students, she started her music education in middle school. But her sixth-grade band class would be better off if the students had started learning earlier, she said. ``Right now they're learning at least six years of music theory in one year. So it stunts their growth as musicians ... because they have to make a point of to attach special importance to. See also: Point trying to learn all the things that they didn't learn in elementary school,'' Snell said. Ways to boost arts education at the elementary level is one of the goals being considered by the 21-member Arts for All Committee, composed of teachers, students, school officials, parents and representatives from arts and entertainment companies. At a school board meeting Thursday, officials offered their support for the committee's work to improve arts education at the Burbank Unified School District A unified school district is a school district which includes both primary school (kindergarten through middle school or junior high) and high school (grades 9-12). In Illinois, these districts are called unit school districts. . ``We really have vibrant arts in our district; we just need to make it better,'' Sheehy said. School board member Connie Lackey said district officials want to improve instrumental music instruction at the elementary level. Bringing more arts to the elementary level has also become an issue in the school board campaign, with all four candidates in the April 12 general election saying they want to look for ways to bring more arts education to elementary schools. School board member Paul Krekorian Paul Krekorian was elected in 2006 to serve California's 43rd Assembly District, which includes the cities of Glendale and Burbank and the Los Feliz, Silver Lake, North Hollywood, Valley Glen, Toluca Lake, Atwater Village and Valley Village communities of Los Angeles. said it was also an issue when he ran two years ago. ``All of us I think remember a time when we were students when arts was much more readily available to all kids than it is now,'' Krekorian said. In addition to saving arts programs from cuts, the district also needs to make sure that, despite the pressure of improving on standardized tests, teachers find time to expose their students to art, Krekorian said. Alex Dobuzinskis, (818) 546-3304 alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Lydia Shin directs sixth-grade students in choir practice at John Muir Middle School in Burbank. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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