30 ATLANTA SCHOOL GUIDE Winter/Spring 2017

ENHANCING CONNECTIONS TO OTHER ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES

ACING THE

BY MICHELLE BOURG

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motor skills, verbal learn-ing, test performance and IQ.

Students with arts ex-posure are also more so-cially adept and exhibit more confidence, mo-tivation, resilience, and innovative thought.

“Our strongest sup-porting evidence is our children,” says Nicole Kelly, Director of Curricu-

lum and Special Projects at Benjamin Pre-paratory School of the Performing Arts in Atlanta. “When they leave the classroom, they excel in many areas.”

The arts can also complement aca-demics and clarify or reinforce key con-cepts, says Peggy Benseker, Director of Arts at The Galloway School. “Some con-tent may be challenging when presented in a passive or traditional way. Using the arts as a vehicle for teaching enables that

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T he last 15 years have seen edu-cators put more

emphasis on test perfor-mance in basic subjects, particularly reading and math. But the arts are now making a comeback. New studies on the cor-relation between the arts and academic achieve-ment support a trend to put the arts back into classrooms both here in Atlanta and across the country.

Arts experience has a positive effect on learning in general. According to Dr. Robin Hensley, Elementary Music Spe-cialist at Greater Atlanta Christian School (GACS) in Norcross, “The fine arts en-hance and strengthen connections to ev-ery other academic discipline.” Numer-ous studies show a positive connection between hands-on arts experience and

ATLANTA SCHOOLSGreater Atlanta Christian School

32 ATLANTA SCHOOL GUIDE Winter/Spring 2017

content to become acces-sible through the integration of movement, music, drama and visual arts.”

While voluntary national arts education standards are in place, state standards vary widely. Georgia policies stip-ulate only that opportunities be provided for students to master fine arts competen-cies, making it necessary for parents to research individual schools and their respective arts pro-grams to find the best fit for their child.

At Benjamin Preparatory, the belief is that artistic expression can and should be part of a child’s earliest experiences. “As of now, we are the only Georgia school offering a specialized arts program for this age group,” says Kelly. “We real-ized God-given talents start early, so we sought out to nurture those talents at a younger age.”

Music, dance, literature and foreign lan-

guage at Benjamin Prepara-tory are woven into a Christian curriculum for infants through Grade 2. Children create and perform original works for the stage by kindergarten age. Arts and crafts are also a part of daily lessons, and a new computer and video lab will soon enable the children to explore the creative side of technology.

As students progress, ex-tracurricular participation expands their artistic horizons. At Greater Atlanta Chris-tian School (GACS), programs are offered during the day in band and orchestra, choir, drama, dance and the visual arts. In addition, the School of Music offers pri-vate instruction in vocal and instrumental music after school at the junior and senior high level, and in weekly classes during recess for grades K-12. The School of Bal-let offers classes in dance disciplines and is also open to non-GACS students.

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At The Lovett School in northwest At-lanta, more than 90% of the K-12 student body participates in sculpture, paint-ing, drawing, photography, film, theater arts, technical theater, chorus, orchestra, band, jazz ensemble, or dance classes, with applied lessons offered for 14 instru-ments and voice. Students can take to the stage in the 650-seat Hendrix-Chenault Theater, and showcase their work at art exhibits and competitions.

Known for a program designed to inspire a natu-ral love of learning, The Galloway School integrates the visual arts, dance, dra-ma, and music across disci-plines at every grade level. For more in-depth involve-ment, students can choose from a number of electives and participate in the Art Club, The Galloway The-atre Ensemble, Tech Crew, Band, Orchestra, Guitar Ensemble or Chorus. Par-ticipation in most groups requires no experience and is on a “no cut” basis.

The DeKalb School of the Arts in Avondale Es-tates is part of the DeKalb County School District. Its academically rigorous program for grades 8-12 includes vocal and instru-mental music, drama, dance, visual arts, creative writing, video technology and multimedia production. Admission to the school is highly competitive.

North Springs Charter High School in Roswell is the only Georgia magnet school for visual and performing arts as well as science and math. Admission is open to all Fulton County residents in

grades 9-12; non-residents are admit-ted on a fee-paying basis when space permits. The program features concen-trations in vocal and instrumental music, drama, visual arts, graphic design, audio-video (AV) tech and film, and web design.

As the visual arts have gone beyond canvas and clay, Atlanta-area schools kept pace. At North Springs, career con-centrations are offered in graphic design,

web design and AV tech-nology and film. DeKalb School of the Arts students have shot public service announcements (PSAs) for the public library.

Creative Career Acad-emy in Roswell offers an off-campus alternative for study in the visual arts, with classes offered both at the school and online for youth ages 8-18 with courses in such skills as fashion illus-tration and graphic design as well as traditional paint-ing and sculpture. Their C-Fuse program combines academic disciplines and a series of applied skills courses: literature with filmmaking, sciences and animation, and math and video game design.

Finding the right arts program for your child

takes diligence, but the results are more than worthwhile. Besides its academic benefits, arts experience enables young people to appreciate our shared cul-tural heritage and opens the door to a richer, more rewarding life. Dr. Hensley expresses it enthusiastically: “…the fine arts grow wholeness, mental well-being, joy, and humanity.

Finding the right arts

program takes diligence, but

the results are more than worthwhile.