Arts Academy students to perform

Program grows from last year

Lorain City Schools’ budding artists will display their talents and skills in a showcase scheduled May 8.

Students of the Lorain City Schools Arts Academy will perform starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Lorain High School Performing Arts Center, 2600 Ashland Ave. The event is free and open to the public.

The academy is made up of a group of 62 children from third, fourth, and fifth grades in Lorain’s 10 elementary schools. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, they gather at Frank Jacinto Elementary for a meal by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lorain County.

Then they get to work dancing, acting, choir, playing music, drawing and writing.

Students choose which fields of art they want to learn more about. Then they get an hour of instruction, with the various topics on a rotating schedule for the three days.

“The kids are there to have fun and learn in the process of it,” said Giulian Favrin, community arts fellow coordinating this year’s program.

The arts groups sponsoring the Arts Academy have touted research showing students who study the arts do better in school overall, from the grade school to college level. The Lorain program emphasizes literacy so the arts programs incorporate reading and writing into the other arts, Favrin said.

“It’s definitely not meant to seem like school, but we take it seriously as educators,” said Favrin, a trumpet player and native of Melbourne, Australia, who earned his master’s degree from the Oberlin Conservatory. “We want the students to learn from us and we’re really passionate about arts in education.”

The program is directed by the Oberlin Center for the Arts in collaboration with other arts organizations and sponsors.

Instructors are from Firelands Association for the Visual Arts, the Mad Factory, Neos Dance Theatre, Northern Ohio Youth Orchestras and Oberlin Choristers.

The Nord Family Foundation and the Eric & Jane Nord Family Fund support the program. Favrin credited District Assistant Superintendent Stephen Sturgill for his support through the school district.

The program began in spring 2017 with about 27 students. Among them, 22 were featured in the arts Academy debut last year at the LHS Performing Arts Center.

The academy spiked to 82 students in fall of this school year, Favrin said. The organizers believe the drop in spring enrollment is largely due to competition with sports and other school and family activities, he said.

Next year, the arts groups would like to create a yearlong program to establish more continuity than two semester-long sessions, Favrin said.