District must invest in the arts
It’s been a hard school year for everyone: students, parents, teachers and administrators. The pandemic brought with it difficult decisions, adjustments and sacrifices. While one cannot imagine the weight that went into these decisions, a school district that has a stated vision of “focus and emphasis on the whole child” cannot afford cuts to music education.
Music and the arts are invaluable in providing the social and emotional learning our kids need right now. Many are still only beginning to return to in-person classes, have suffered trauma over the past year and need a place that can provide healing that will positively impact their other academic classes. Students in music classrooms are regularly taught collaboration, self-regulation, self-awareness and decision making. Research also suggests that experiences in the arts contribute to a fully functioning brain and body. Creating music and art is not a luxury for the elite, but a need fo