SAAC promotes arts education with funding
The South Arkansas Arts Center is well known for its plays, art galleries and showcases.
Besides functioning as a center for artistic productions in the region, however, the center is also deeply involved in fostering arts education through its Creative Arts Academy programs.
SAAC received a $20,500 VIP (Violence Intervention Plan) grant from the SHARE Foundation in January and, according to executive director Laura Allen, utilizes those funds to provide scholarships to students who would benefit from the program.
“That funding for us has a very specific purpose — we use it for scholarships to our after-school program. We have classes in ballet, visual arts, graphic design, theater; all kinds of stuff,” Allen said. “We use the SHARE money to recruit and accept students who would otherwise not be able to pay, particularly those from single [parent] homes, students where English is not the primary language spoken at home or any under-served students.”
Students find their way to the program in a variety of ways.
“A lot of it is word of mouth. A big part is that we want to retain students we have; we want to keep them for the next year and the next semester. We also have a network of counselors, art teachers and others who refer students
to us,” Allen said.
Seventy-five students are currently enrolled in SAAC’s Spring Arts Academy. Students also receive benefits including SAAC membership, student ticket pricing and other free perks.
Students can choose to focus on a single discipline or branch out into several. The Arts Academy program is open to K-12 level students.
Allen said that SAAC regularly observes students receiving direct and tangible benefits from the program outside the boost to their arts education.
“With this grant, we also track grades, attendance and the citizenship of the students and our interactions with their parents. We really want to see — and have seen — that students who are engaged in this kind of stuff perform better in school and have fewer disciplinary incidents,”
she said. “Across the board, arts education fosters critical thinking and collaboration.”
Allen went on to say that the program also offers benefits to students’ families.
“It ends in better grades, attendance, behavior and more chance to interact with family. We have end of semester activities where parents get to see their kids on stage or in a showcase. It all works together to reinforce things that translate into long term gain,” Allen said.
The Creative Arts Academy is in session after school Monday through Thursday from 3:30 until 7 p.m. and has as instructors “established fine artists and theatre professionals,” according to SAAC’s website.
SAAC also offers summer and fall programming.
Allen touted the
wide-ranging benefits of an arts education and said prospective students should apply regardless of their family’s financial situation.
“I am a believer in arts education. The Arts Center has been here since 1964, so that’s generations of kids with the opportunity to have strong background in these arts subjects. It doesn’t necessarily translate into art — it translates into people solving problems, empathy and critical thinking,” Allen said. “I feel strongly that you don’t want those benefits only to people with disposable income. You want all kinds of students to reap those benefits regardless of their background. We have to think bigger about it.”
For more information about SAAC, visit saacarts.org.