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| Osceola Center for the Arts 2411 E. Irlo Bronson Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34744 phone 407.846.6257 fax 407.846.7902 |
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Why Arts Education?
Why Arts Education?
By Jules Davidson
The Osceola County Arts Education Forum, presented by A.C.E. (Arts for a Complete Education), had
quite a few answers for this question. The forum was held on Wednesday, October 22 at the Osceola
Center for the Arts, located on 192 in Kissimmee.
Performances by students of the Osceola County School for the Performing Arts preceded the event
with classical and jazz ensembles in the foyer and on stage.
Introduced by Pete Edwards, a brief presentation by Debbie Fahmie, School District Arts Resource
Specialist, brought arts education facts to light for a panel of 9 local school board members, arts
administrators and community leaders, as well as an audience of well over 100 arts education
supporters. Highlights of information include that student’s who participate in the arts are 4-times more
likely to be recognized for academic achievement and 3-times more likely to go on to higher education.
(E.B. Fiske (Ed.), Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning. Washington, DC: Arts Education
Partnership)
The panel included Brandon Arrington, Osceola Center for the Arts; Dr. Michael Grego, Superintendent
of Schools; Cindy Lou Hartig, School Board Member; Fred Hawkins, Foundation of Education; Mike
Horner, Chamber of Commerce; John McKay, President of the School Board; Julius Melendez, Incoming
School Board Member; Ed Moore, Osceola Center for the Arts; Jay Wheeler, School Board Member
and was moderated by Lawrie Platt Hall of the Florida Alliance for Arts Education.
In an education world filled with testing, budget cuts, technology and more testing, Wednesday nights
gathering of minds gave panelists more tools to help support arts education and made way for the
audience to learn more about arts advocacy and how to beat the proverbial arts drum to let their
student’s needs be known, to the school board, Tallahassee, and Washington D.C.
The night ended with a biographical speech from, living arts education example and former recipient of
A.C.E. Arts Alive Scholarship, Donald Rupe, who now teaches drama at Gateway High School.
Jules Davidson is the Director of Visual Arts for the Osceola Center for the Arts and can be reached at
jdavidson@ocfta.com/407-846-6257 x4.
Resource links:
www.artsusa.com
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/champions/pdfs/ChampsReport.pdf
By Jules Davidson
The Osceola County Arts Education Forum, presented by A.C.E. (Arts for a Complete Education), had
quite a few answers for this question. The forum was held on Wednesday, October 22 at the Osceola
Center for the Arts, located on 192 in Kissimmee.
Performances by students of the Osceola County School for the Performing Arts preceded the event
with classical and jazz ensembles in the foyer and on stage.
Introduced by Pete Edwards, a brief presentation by Debbie Fahmie, School District Arts Resource
Specialist, brought arts education facts to light for a panel of 9 local school board members, arts
administrators and community leaders, as well as an audience of well over 100 arts education
supporters. Highlights of information include that student’s who participate in the arts are 4-times more
likely to be recognized for academic achievement and 3-times more likely to go on to higher education.
(E.B. Fiske (Ed.), Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning. Washington, DC: Arts Education
Partnership)
The panel included Brandon Arrington, Osceola Center for the Arts; Dr. Michael Grego, Superintendent
of Schools; Cindy Lou Hartig, School Board Member; Fred Hawkins, Foundation of Education; Mike
Horner, Chamber of Commerce; John McKay, President of the School Board; Julius Melendez, Incoming
School Board Member; Ed Moore, Osceola Center for the Arts; Jay Wheeler, School Board Member
and was moderated by Lawrie Platt Hall of the Florida Alliance for Arts Education.
In an education world filled with testing, budget cuts, technology and more testing, Wednesday nights
gathering of minds gave panelists more tools to help support arts education and made way for the
audience to learn more about arts advocacy and how to beat the proverbial arts drum to let their
student’s needs be known, to the school board, Tallahassee, and Washington D.C.
The night ended with a biographical speech from, living arts education example and former recipient of
A.C.E. Arts Alive Scholarship, Donald Rupe, who now teaches drama at Gateway High School.
Jules Davidson is the Director of Visual Arts for the Osceola Center for the Arts and can be reached at
jdavidson@ocfta.com/407-846-6257 x4.
Resource links:
www.artsusa.com
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/champions/pdfs/ChampsReport.pdf
| Dr. Michael Grego, John McKay, Mike Horner, Jay Wheeler & Julius Melendez |
| Debbie Fahmie, Donald Rupe, Lawrie Platt Hall & Pete Edwards |
| See above for list of panelist |