Schools reaching out with art

It's a special week to enjoy creativity at student events

By JESSICA BLANCHARD
P-I REPORTER

Gov. Chris Gregoire has proclaimed this Arts Education Week -- but if parents such as Rachelle Brown had their way, arts would be celebrated in schools year-round.

Brown, a Meany Middle School parent who helped organize the school's first Jaguar Arts Festival, considers the subject integral to a child's education. "Art reaches kids in ways that other disciplines sometimes can't," she said.

At Meany, as at some other Seattle schools, art is incorporated into the curriculum in nearly every class. Sixth-graders may read slave narratives as part of a history unit, for example -- but rather than just answering questions or taking a quiz, they'll discuss what they read, then perform a dramatic interpretation on stage.

The school has a history of using art in the classroom, but this year started an "arts initiative" to guarantee art will be emphasized, Brown said. "We've really been pushing to make this a priority."

In Seattle, students and families are gearing up for a weekend of arts events and celebrations as part of Arts Education Week. Among them:

Elementary Choral Festival, 6 p.m. Thursday, Mercer Middle School, 1600 S. Columbian Way. More than 300 students from 10 Seattle schools will perform.

"Together We Can" multicultural dinner and concert; 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Rainier Beach High School, 8815 Seward Park S. Dance, choir and orchestra groups from several area schools will perform. Tickets (includes dinner): adults $10, children $5.

Jaguar Arts Festival, 4-8 p.m. Thursday, Meany Middle School, 301 21st Ave. E. Event includes student art exhibits, strolling minstrels and string quartets, a fine-art walk, silent auction and drama performances.

Art Walk Kick-Off 2008, 6 p.m. Thursday, Queen Anne Avenue North, from Galer to McGraw streets. Students from John Hay Elementary, Coe Elementary and McClure Middle School will attend, and neighborhood merchants have "adopted" art classes from elementary and middle schools and are featuring the students' art.

High School Art Show Awards, 2-4 p.m. Friday, Old Capitol Building, Olympia. Two Madison Middle School seventh-graders will receive an award from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for their entries in the 2008 Youth Arts Month flag design contest.

Arts Festival, 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. Saturday, Franklin High School, 3013 S. Mount Baker Blvd. Festival features visual art, drama, food and music.

Ballard High School Marching Band performance, 3 p.m. Saturday, downtown Ballard. The band will march in the Ballard Syttende Mai (17th of May) Norwegian Constitution Day Parade.

ArtFest 2008, 5:30-9 p.m. Sunday, TOPS K-8, 2500 Franklin Ave. E. Student work will be on display.

A few of the district's high school bands will also be performing this week at competitions outside of Seattle.

The Roosevelt and Garfield high school jazz bands will battle it out at the Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival in New York City through Saturday, and the Ballard High School vocal jazz ensemble will be performing at the Northwest Vocal Jazz Festival in Gresham, Ore., on Saturday.

P-I reporter Jessica Blanchard can be reached at 206-448-8322 or jessicablanchard@seattlepi.com. Read her School Zone blog at blog.seattlepi.com/schoolzone.

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