Short takes
Rounding out learning through the arts
An after-school arts program in the Monrovia Unified School District is offering students an opportunity to increase their learning power, thanks to a partnership between the district, the business community, musicians and artists. The arts program is part of The Village After School Program, a comprehensive learning and enrichment extended school day program in which approximately 600 students from six school sites also receive academic support, citizenship and healthy lifestyle instruction.
With an increased emphasis nationwide on raising test scores, many schools have eliminated arts programs. That’s why the after-school program is ideal to help nurture the “whole child,” according to project organizers. “Research shows that just by virtue of being in the arts, playing an instrument, the fine arts or dancing, students’ test scores are raised dramatically,” says Susan Frisch, VSP program director. “It’s a well-rounded approach to education and we are supporting them in many ways to raise scores and meet the needs of all students.”
Pupils in grades 1-8 are offered music lessons on a variety of stringed instruments, including violins, violas, cellos and guitars. They also have the opportunity to take visual and performing arts instruction from professionals as part of an Artists in Residence Program offered by the Monrovia Arts Festival Association. The members of the association, including artists and potters, conduct fundraising activities for the after-school arts program throughout the year. “We use two different curricula in the arts: one from the Getty Museum and the other based on the teaching of Mona Brooks, who wrote a book about drawing,” Frisch says. “We are using real art teachers for the over 600 students who meet with the artists once a week.”
Students recently displayed their art at a Monrovia fair.
In addition to receiving funding for the arts program from the Monrovia Arts Festival Association, Washington Mutual Bank has also been a benefactor. The bank sponsored a school savings program in which students learned how to save money, the importance of making weekly deposits and the wisdom of delaying unnecessary purchases. The math extension curriculum taught the students important life skills and the bank made a donation to the after-school arts program, displaying the art of philanthropic giving.
The after-school program organizers are looking to a bright financial future with an eye toward selling paintings and other art objects for funding, as well as applying for grants from Washington Mutual Bank.
Students, teachers, parents and the after-school program partners are proud of their accomplishments, which have been documented in several front-page newspaper articles. Some believe the positive publicity has resulted in a dramatic number of families moving into Monrovia to enroll their children in The Village After School Program, which won a Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association in 2004.
Archaeological dig brings history to life
It’s not often that you hear middle school students say that history is fun. However, that’s exactly what’s being said about the annual Archaeological Dig for seventh graders who attend Windsor Elementary School in Sonoma County. This hands-on, get-down-in-the-dirt event is preceded by months of study and planning in the classroom, starting in the early fall. The goal is to get students excited about history and language arts as soon as school begins.
First, the students do eight weeks of research about cities in Central and South America and Mexico. They study things like populations, landforms, climate, and the Aztec, Incan, and Mayan cultures, religions, trade and art. Class members brainstorm and choose an event from that time period and create artifacts, like tools, sacrificial knives and jewelry. Based on their research, the students write in-depth papers about the artifacts and the roles they played in the class-chosen event.
Then, the dirty work begins. Each class buries its artifacts in secret pits. The students leave their “treasures” behind for another seventh grade class to unearth, record, measure and photograph.
Like putting together a crossword puzzle, the students who find the artifacts, determine what culture they have discovered and in what event the artifacts were used. They write letters to their peers about the quality of artifacts they unearthed and explain why they believe the artifacts were used by a certain culture and event. “As we study other cultures throughout the year, the students have a strong appreciation and a real world application for the science involved in understanding antiquated societies, based on their simulation of their dig,” says Grace Curtin-Fiano, Social Studies Department Chair. “They are excited about history and as one student so aptly put it, ‘History isn’t just about a bunch of dead guys.’”
Since The Dig was made part of the seventh-grade curricula in October of 1996, its popularity has grown. The number of classes involved has climbed from two to 11, while the number of sites has increased from four to 11. All students are invited to participate in the program, including those enrolled in special education classes. The inclusion brings a sense of unity and respect throughout the seventh-grade population. “All students share a common experience and celebrate each other’s contributions to their teams,” Curtin-Fiano says.
On Dig day, which is held during normal school hours, attendance among the 360 seventh graders soars to 96 percent, with 35 volunteers also on hand. Thanks to the volunteers, who supply their time and water and snacks, no special funding is required for the project. And because The Dig involves students, teachers and volunteers, it has become a community event that draws media coverage and positive publicity for the school.
Teachers and administrators credit this Golden Bell-winning program with improving achievement scores for seventh-grade students who are tested in social studies and language arts. Eighty-five percent of the seventh graders score at a proficient or advanced level on the Meso-American standards.