District Administrator's Corner

by Loren Glasbrenner,  River Valley School District Administrator  A man walked into a room of adults and asked three quick questions: “Hey everyone, raise your hand if you can run fast.”  Two people out of the group of 50 raised their hands.  “Thanks everyone, bear with me and raise your hand if you can sing well.”  Three different people out of the 50 felt comfortable enough to raise their hands.  “Now folks, one last question…raise your hand if you are an artist.”  Only one person raised their hand. Now imagine this… me walking into a kindergarten classroom of little learners and asking the same three questions.  Hands would fly up and chatter would start immediately!  Children would literally race to show me their new shoes, start singing, and bring me their art.  There would be pride and energy spilling from the classroom.  Is it possible that somewhere we lose the love to share our talents and we choose to evaluate and shy away from our own abilities?  Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but we must pause to consider why the eyes of our children are more open and accepting. As a district, we recognize that art education is an influential factor in the total education that develops citizens of a global society.  Art education helps create thinkers.  And we all must appreciate locally how art influences the economy, mental health and wellness, and community culture.  The River Valley School District is very fortunate to have well-rounded courses for our students.  Again, these are the classes that students love and connect to their deep interests.   The National Art Education Association (NAEA) believes there is a symbiotic relationship between a supported high-quality visual arts education program and a positive school culture. The fundamental context for a school-based visual arts education program requires effective educators who are adept in art, but also equity, budgeting, time management, instructional materials, cross-curricular connections and online resources.  They become a master of all. But more specifically, the art educators play an important leadership role in building positive school culture and climate (arteducators.org). If you walked into any of our facilities, you would see visual art displayed.  The visual expression is very apparent in the schools and has a great impact on school culture.  Art class creates “a supportive environment where students develop abilities to problem solve, take risks, develop a personal creative voice, collaborate, and reflect on building a sense of community within the school.”   Megan Quigley, Katie Bril, and Kasey Maxwell are tremendous educators that organize the energy of our students and understand how to channel and challenge.  Kids ask to be in art.  Students seek out these opportunities before and after school.  Kids love to use their hands to create and express their creativity.  We are beyond fortunate to have such talent in our students facilitated by these three teachers. I recently saw a t-shirt that stated, “The earth without ‘art’ is just ‘eh’.”  I believe we won’t have to worry about that—our students will have the courage to raise their hands and deliver.