Arts In Education

Lee County Schools Arts Educators will commit to creating a safe space for students to be exposed to the arts while educating and advocating for arts integration in the community.

Lee County Arts Educators will involve, inspire, and teach students. We will commit to integrating differentiated practices that support and represent the diversity in our schools.

This school year brings needed and exciting changes to Arts Education in our state.
Legislation was recently passed to include an arts graduation requirement. Additionally, this year, an arts diploma endorsement is being offered for qualifying high school seniors.🎓

New Evidence of the Benefits of Arts Education (a randomized control study) 📈

"We find that a substantial increase in arts educational experiences has remarkable impacts on students' academic, social, and emotional outcomes."

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/new-evidence-of-the-benefits-of-arts-education/

I hope you enjoy this edition of LCS Arts In Education.

Creatively,

Wendy Bryant

LCS Arts Education Liaison

S681 passed in June of 2020 and became Session Law SL2020-78 in July.

This law directed the State Board of Education (SBE) to modify graduation requirements, which previously included an option to include an arts education credit, to require one credit of arts education to be completed at any time during grades six through twelve. The new requirement. begins with students entering Grade 6 in 2022-23 and, subsequently, in Grade 9 in 2025-26.

Click on the link below for more information.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1huQs6NxAo7-PL8g6xDMfMIxNBWaF4vrb8u3JNReYTZs/preview?tab=t.0#heading=h.2864gmhf1dls

Arts advocates and educators in North Carolina have much to celebrate with the recent introduction of the Arts Proficiency Endorsement for high school diplomas, a historic milestone that signals a significant step forward in recognizing the importance of arts education. This endorsement, sanctioned by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction under the State Board Education Policy Grad-007, is more than just a new line on a diploma—it’s a recognition of the vital role that the arts play in shaping well-rounded, future-ready students.

It legitimizes the arts as a critical component of a student’s education and provides a framework for schools to recognize and reward artistic excellence. Moreover, it sends a powerful message to students, parents, and the broader community that the arts are not just valuable but essential to a well-rounded education.

Posted on: August 27, 2024Written by: Nate McGaha

https://www.artsnc.org

a. The student shall complete a minimum of four NCSCOS high school arts courses (which may include Advanced Placement). Courses using local elective codes that do not deliver the full Arts Education Standard Course of Study do not count toward the endorsement nor do community college arts courses.

b. The student shall earn an unweighted GPA of 3.0 or higher in each arts credit.

c. The student shall complete a minimum of 40 hours of arts-related extracurricular activities between 9th and 12th grade.

i. The student shall complete all of the required hours outside of instructional hours.

ii. The student shall not receive any course credit for participation in the activity.

iii. The student shall document the hours on the form provided by NCDPI with a short

reflection. Activities must be approved by a current or former arts education teacher

of the student.

iv. Forms must be submitted to the student’s high school guidance counselor by the

specified date.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16nF47coAKx2K9KL45IhT4sSYFpD2ZcpKMwbUyWrkwL4/edit?usp=sharing

Examples that would satisfy the requirements include, but are not limited to, attending performances, participating in community arts events, participation in local, district, or regional honor ensembles or activities, visiting museums or galleries, or interviewing local artists. Hours can be cross-curricular. Lee County Schools list of approved arts-related extracurricular activities may be found on the website, lee.k12.nc.us

• K-12 District Arts teachers attended training on the new Arts Education Standard Courses of Study titled Aligning Artistic Practices: Understanding the New Arts Education Standards Framework on October 17. This PD was developed by DPI Arts Education and delivered by Wendy Bryant.

• The new Arts Education K-12 Standard Courses of Study for Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts, will be fully implemented at the beginning of the 2025-26 School Year.

• See this link for the implementation timeline.

• The NC K-12 Arts Education Resource Hub is a repository for all Dance, Music, Theatre Arts, and Visual Arts supporters. The purpose of this hub is to provide a space for the arts education community to explore resources that address the K-12 Dance, Music, Theatre Arts, and Visual Arts Standard Courses of Study and access to resources that will assist with planning, instruction, and professional learning designed to support effective standard-based teaching and learning.

• https://ncdpi.instructure.com/courses/9487
  

The Southern Lee High School Jazz Band and the WB Wicker Elementary Step Dance Class performed for the Board of Education on October

Performances from LCHS and SLHS showcased talents for fair attendees

🎨🏆Youth Blue Ribbon, in category 2, of the

NC Association of Agriculture Fairs'

Best In Show competition!

Congratulations, Zofia, 11th grade visual arts student of Ms. Appanaitis

at Southern Lee High School!

Tramway brought Daniel Dancer back to create a mural using students and staff. His first visit was five years ago when Tramway created a tiger shark that represented their newly appointed mascot. This year, a tree of all seasons was created representing Tramway's year round schedule and an ode to their first motto when the school first opened, " Success in All Seasons" After sending Daniel an inspiration photo, he calculated how big to create the mural by the number of students/staff at Tramway. Fifth graders helped to create the outline of the design on day one. Day two, the school comes together to create the actual image. The finale was a schoolwide assembly watching our video Daniel compiled of the three days spent creating the tree of all seasons.

https://www.artforthesky.com/

~Mary Beth Wiltshire, Tramway Elementary Visual Arts teacher

Visual Arts students from LCHS Mr. Wells's & Ms. Coyne's classes and SLHS Ms. Appanaitis's & Ms. Manning's classes, attended the 59th annual Sanford Brush and Palette Club Art Show in October. Students engaged with professional artists, participated in hands-on activities, and took part in a scavenger hunt.
The visit was fully funded by the Ruby McSwain Foundation.

Congratulations to Arts Educators for entering their work into the annual Sanford Brush and Palette Club Art Show!

Each month arts educators meet to connect, share resources, and grow in their practice.

Tramway Christmas Play (kinder)Tramway Gym12/3/24 6:30 PM

East Lee Winter Concert LCHS Auditorium12/9/24 6:30 PM

SanLee Winter Concert SLMS Gym12/17/2024 6:00 PM