[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a Letter to the Editor, written by a Reader. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The B-Town Blog nor its staff:]
“Artwork and performances by amazing students of Highline Public Schools” will be on display on Thursday, May 5th in downtown Burien at the B-Town Beat Music and Art Walk.
Highline Public Schools student-artists from every high school and middle school campus will proudly display their talents and wares.
Except Cascade Middle School students.
Cascade Middle School will be missing from Thursday evening’s festivities, because Cascade students are no longer offered drawing and painting classes. When the Cascade art teacher took another job several years ago, a counselor position replaced the full-time art position. As a result, Cascade is the only HPS middle school with no Visual Arts classes.
Surprisingly, HPS middle schools provide students with vastly different fine arts options despite Highline Board Arts Policy 2160, which prominently states, “The School Board recognizes the importance of equitable access to an arts education.”
Cascade has the fewest fine arts options for students offering to budget almost a full-time teacher to teach both Band and Choir. Chinook Middle School offers a full-time Visual Arts (painting and drawing) teacher and a half-time position for Band. Pacific Middle School offers a full-time teacher for Visual Arts, and another full-time teacher for Band, Orchestra, Choir and Guitar/Ukulele. Sylvester Middle School offers the broadest arts programs with Band, Beginning Instrumental, Visual Arts and Drama.
Cascade’s arts budget is half of Chinook’s arts budget, and is a third of both Pacific and Sylvester’s arts budgets!
Highline School Board Arts Policy 2160 leads with “The Board recognizes that an arts education (defined as dance, music, theater, and visual arts) is an essential part of the learning experience for all Highline students.” Not only do HPS middle schools not offer essential and equitable arts for all Highline middle school students, HPS high school students are offered vastly inequitable arts education options as well, depending on a student’s address within the school district.
The Evergreen Service Area is a veritable arts desert with two-thirds of all kids in those schools not receiving a single drawing and painting class from Kindergarten through high school graduation!
Highline School District leadership needs to revisit Highline Board Arts Policy 2160 and strive to do a much better job celebrating and honing artistic talents of ALL Highline children by ensuring equitable arts opportunities in every school. It is unfair and unjust for Highline Public Schools to sponsor an arts and music event promoting creative Highline students, and then exclude entire schools lacking arts programs and the kids who attend those schools.
Sincerely,
Sarah Gengler Dahl
“Artwork and performances by amazing students of Highline Public Schools” will be on display on Thursday, May 5th in downtown Burien at the B-Town Beat Music and Art Walk.[Have an opinion or concern you’d like to share with our ~80,000+ monthly Readers? Please send us your Letter to the Editor via email. Include your full name, please remain civil and, pending our review, we’ll consider publishing it.]