You walk into a classroom and hear a teacher welcoming her students with the cheerful sounds of a ukulele. Down the hallway, students collaborate with an artist-in-residence on a new mural. After school, middle schoolers debate, “how will we get this dragon onstage?” as they rehearse a musical.
Think this is an elite school of the performing arts? Think again. This type of integrated arts curriculum is happening at the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD).
“At first we were just trying to get more and more (arts),” said Jaqui Hope, Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator at MPUSD. “Now we’re honing to make sure the quality is rising.”
Hope started this initiative five years ago, to implement new arts programs and support existing programs for the entire district, elementary through high school. The MPUSD district contains 12 elementary schools, three middle schools, three high schools, and one community school.
Now, all elementary students have year-round music, in addition to every elementary grade level hosting an artist in residence ranging from dance, visual arts, world cultures or eco ambassadors -- a blend of arts and earth science.
Middle school students present a musical through an after school program each year. Community partnerships were also strengthened to enhance field trips to the Monterey Symphony or to see the Nutcracker, or to welcome artists from the Carmel Bach Festival.
Hope attributes the district’s trailblazing arts education model to “arts-positive” Superintendent Dr. PK Diffenbaugh.
“(Diffenbaugh) has given that freedom to all teachers in the district to expand their offerings by incorporating the arts and learning something new,” Hope said. “I would love to see other school districts have that sort of support and increase their arts programming.”
But Hope recognizes that her district is out of the norm.
“There is a quote attributed to (American philanthropist and a former general manager at Microsoft) Melinda Gates, ‘Talent is evenly distributed, but the opportunity is not,’” Hope said. “If we provide opportunities for students, they will show their talent.”
“The biggest battle is always time,” said Karyn Lee-Garcia, Arts Education Director at Arts Council for Monterey County. “I haven’t come across anyone that has ever said it isn’t important; we’re just trying to figure out how to make it work.”
The role of the Arts Council is to advocate for creative arts integration in the classroom and to change decisionmakers’ perspective on the role of the arts. Currently, the Arts Council supports a robust Artist in Residence program, employing 25 teaching artists to serve 25,000 students annually in more than 35 schools in every corner of Monterey County.
“(The Arts Council) is tasked with being in front of these school districts to realize that they can actually make a big impact with English Language Learners, social-emotional learning and all those big buzz terms through arts education,” Lee-Garcia said. “We are shining the light on what’s possible when you focus on and put money in arts education.”
Chris Cohoon, Manager of Education and Public Engagement at the Monterey Museum of Art, said life enrichment and well-rounded citizens is just the start of the benefits with arts education.
“Harvard Medical School is turning to the arts to teach surgeons soft skills like bedside manner, and how to observe and properly diagnose patients,” Cohoon said. “Nearly everything in the future can be automated, but creative skills are going to be the most marketable commodity that we possess.”
Monterey Museum of Art (MMA) has enhanced its arts education programs to supplement public school programming across Monterey County. During the 2018-2019 school year, MMA served 3,229 students through field trips -- a 35% increase from the previous year. Students receive a free tour of the galleries and do a hands-on project in the studio classroom. Schools can choose from four different curricula to integrate science or history into the visual arts activity.
MMA also goes into schools with its Schools Make Art (SMArt) program at Seaside Middle School, a free afterschool art program. The first day of the program for the 2019-2020 school year welcomed 22 kids.
“We try to come alongside the teachers as much as we can and use art however we can to bolster their curriculum and enrich students’ lives,” Cohoon said.
For Hope, the arts deliver a school environment where color and harmony extend beyond a project or performance.
“It’s difficult for me to understand the arts as an ‘other’ thing,” Hope said. “If you can get the students engaged, because they like singing that song or doing that dance, or because the walls are brightly colored with murals, you have more of an opportunity to reach them with math or reading because you’ve got their attention. (Our community) has come very far and we’re not pausing at all.”
A lifelong writer, Caitlin Fillmore studied Journalism at Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa. She reported news, feature, and entertainment stories for the publications throughout the Midwest, including the Marshfield News Herald, Forest City Summit, Britt News-Tribune, La Crosse Tribune and Mason City Globe Gazette. Caitlin is currently the Development and Education Manager for the Monterey Symphony and lives in Pacific Grove with her two dogs, Beef and Chop.