Unfortunately, with the economy as tough as it is many schools are making ends meet by having more cuts for art programs. Often a school will cut its art program when it needs to free up some room in the budget, but this deprives students of their chance to learn how to express themselves creatively.
Art classes can be an outlet that students need, so it’s important to keep the school’s art program alive. Here are a few steps you can take if your school is considering shutting down its art program.
Take Action To Prevent More Cuts for Art Programs
Whether you are a student or a parent, you can still affect the way your school runs. Ask around and find people who also don’t want the school to cut art funding. Draft up a petition and get as many signatures as you can, then send copies to the principal of your school and the superintendent of your district. You can even get the PTA involved for some extra strength behind your petition. If a principal or superintendent knows that the art program is important to the members of their community, they may be more likely to find a way to keep it running.
Suggest Fundraisers
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Often, schools will shut down the art program purely because they cannot afford to continue running it. Parents and students who are willing to raise money to support the program can help to mitigate the
budgeting problems and in many cases, enough fundraising can save the program altogether. Consider hosting bake sales, car washes, bagging groceries, or even teaming up with other companies can help. Once you get the community involved, you’re more likely to gain the support you seek, and make the money you need. Fundraisers are a great way to get around more cuts for art programs, and possibly prevent them in the future.
Find a Benefactor
The arts have thrived on patronage since their inception, and school art programs are no different. If your art program is in danger, get the word out that your school desperately needs a patron. Sometimes there are people in your community who are just waiting for an opportunity to support the arts, and if you’re lucky, one of them might donate the money your school needs to keep the program running.
Donate What You Can
Whether you have art supplies, artistic experience, or just time, donating things to the school’s art program can be one way of lowering costs significantly. You might also consider asking artists you know if they have any leftover material and supplies they might be willing to donate to the school.
Volunteer teachers can also be a big help, since a large part of any program’s cost is the teacher’s salary. With a few dedicated volunteers, you may be able to keep your school’s art program alive, at least as an extra curricular program, and avoid more cuts for art programs.
No one wants to lose their school’s art program. The opportunity for creative expression and encouragement is something kids need to have, especially in the structured atmosphere that school provides. Hopefully, these tips will help you keep your school’s art program thriving.
Dixie Somers is a freelance writer who loves writing about anything to do with business, finance, women’s interests, or home and family. Dixie lives in Arizona with her husband and three daughters, who are the inspiration for her writing. Consider partnering with local companies or art studios to help you fundraise to save the art program. An art studio that offers painting and wine in Denver, Sipping N’ Painting is a community studio that promotes art for children—co-hosting an event for fundraising at a studio like this one would be a great way to get the community involved in preserving the arts.
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