City of Fairfax Schools: Road Map to Success in the Fine Arts

Road Map to Success in the Fine Arts

Fine arts classes are offered in all four of the City Schools, including art and music.

Elementary School
Grades K-6

Classes include: general music, art, strings (grades 4-6), band (grades 5-6), chorus (grades 5-6)
Note: Program of Studies (POS) and Standards of Learning (SOL) are integrated._

Middle School and High School
Grades 7-12

Classes include: art, orchestra, band, chorus, theater arts, dance

FOCUS ON: FINE ART

Art, band, orchestra, dance, and theater are all great activities for school-age children. Right? But do your kids have the right stuff to make a career in the arts?

By Hope Katz Gibbs
From Close-Up May-June 2006

Pablo Picasso said: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Fortunately, students at Fairfax High are not only getting lessons in how to be great artists — and writers, musicians, actors, and dancers — they are also getting pointers on how to make a living in the field.

“When students leave my class, their skills are good enough to land them jobs as junior designers in big firms,” says Roxanne Kaylor, director of graphic arts at Fairfax Academy for Communications and the Arts. “Of course, most of our students go on to college, but it should be comforting to parents to know that kids who have a talent for art and graphics can make a good living in the business.”

Kaylor realizes that some parents worry their artistic kids won’t have a strong financial future. But she says that because Fairfax High is located in the metropolitan Washington, DC area, where hundreds of public and private companies are headquartered, her students have no trouble landing jobs when they leave the Academy.

“I have had lots of students who, right after high school, get jobs as junior designer that earn them salaries starting at $30,000,” Kaylor explains. “Most of my students go on to college, but because they leave here with a background in everything from animation to print graphics, they have an incredibly strong base.”

Follow Your Heart

Though it’s true that an artist’s wage may not be as high as say, an engineer, those who have chosen to pursue a career in the arts say they simply felt they had no choice: Art was their calling.

“I always loved art, and knew I wanted to make it my career,” says FHS art department chair Neil French. “My dad [an FBI agent] wasn’t too keen on it, but my mom was artsy and I knew I’d be really happy following my dream.”

French confides that it wasn’t until he’d been teaching at FHS for a while that his dad pulled him aside and told him how proud he was of him. “That was really great to hear, but even without his blessing I would have known a career in art was right for me. It’s in my bones.”

French’s story is typical of many artists. In fact, when City Schools Close-Up designer Michael Gibbs was a freshman at the University of Maryland, he was planning to become an architect. But after a year, he knew it wasn’t his passion. Gibbs could draw, though, and applied to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY — one of the top art schools in the country.

He was accepted, and the time spent in art school changed his life. “I had always done well in school, but suddenly, in illustration, I found my passion.” After graduation, Gibbs landed a job in the graphics department at AT&T, and also tried his hand as a freelance illustrator. His first assignment was for the National Association of Cemeteries.

“I wasn’t sure if that was a good omen or not,” he jokes, but that illustration launched his freelance career. Gibbs has won awards from the prestigious Society of Illustrators and Communications Arts magazine for work that has appeared in books, magazines and newspapers. His paintings will be featured on posters for the Virginia Opera’s upcoming 2006-2007 season.

“I knew it was an uphill battle making a living as an artist, but I didn’t let that stop me. I’ve never believed that the promise of a fat paycheck was a reason to pick a career or spend a life. I knew if I followed my heart, worked hard, and never gave up, the money would come.”

Indeed, Gibbs has achieved financial success — as has Close-Up photographer Steve Barrett, who since the 1980s has freelanced for Washingtonian Magazine, NPR, USA Today, Forbes, and Vanity Fair.

“I absolutely love my job because it feels like play more than work,” Barrett shares. “Every day is an adventure, and that’s what I want for my son, Max. Going through life doing what you love makes it worthwhile.”

As Director of Student Services at Fairfax High, Carole Kihm applauds French, Gibbs and Barrett for following their instincts, and encourages her students to pick colleges, and careers, they think will not only earn them a good living — but, ultimately, will make them happy.

“Finding the right career isn’t easy,” she realizes, “but it can be especially stressful for a student if their parents want them to go in one direction, and they want to go in another. In the end, I advise students to follow their passion. If for some reason they choose not to go into the field they yearn for, such as the arts, the good news is that those disciplines make great hobbies.”

Something for Everyone

Making art, theater, or music a passionate hobby is sometimes as good as having a full-time job in the field, says Tomoko Azuma, executive director of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras.

“I know a lot of musicians who were in the youth orchestra as kids, then went on to become successful doctors, lawyers, and business executives and on the weekend they play in an ensemble or even a rock band,” she says. “They haven’t given up their love for performing. They have found a way to have it all.”

Plus, she adds, being a patron of the arts — be it orchestra, opera, symphony, theater or a local band — is also incredibly important. “Where would we be if we had performers but no one in the audience? Our goal at the AYP is to not only turn out a generation of musicians, but a generation of patrons of the arts, too.”

Spotlight on the Arts

In the spirit of supporting the next generation of artists, City of Fairfax officials have named the 2006 Spotlight on the Arts program: “A Celebration of Youth.”
The spring festival was kicked off on April 21 at a black tie affair that featured performances by students in the American Youth Philharmonic brass ensemble, F/X Players from the FHS drama department, the City of Fairfax Band’s brass and percussion Ensemble, and the Fairfax Choral Society.

“We have so many talented youths in our area,” says Spotlight’s Executive Director Jo Ormesher. “We were glad to be able to showcase all that incredible talent at the kick off.”

The Sound of Music
From Close-Up, May-June 2005

Research shows kids who play music are more likely to get better grades, steer clear of drugs, and have more self-discipline. The hundreds of students who participate in the City Schools music programs know something else: Playing music is a lot of fun.

“EVERY STUDENT IN THE NATION should have an education in the arts,” states The Value and Quality of Arts Education: A Statement of Principles. The document, published by the Reston-based National Association for Music Education, encourages music educators and school administrators to recognize music and the other arts as serious, core academic subjects.

The nine basic principles read like an academic Bill of Rights and suggest all schools provide a strong arts curriculum and hire qualiﬁed arts teachers who will
make it their mission to fulﬁll that goal.

What gives the document heft is the fact that 10 of the most respected educa-
tional organizations signed it, including the National PTA, the National School Board
Association, National Education Association, and the American Association of School Administrators.

“Too many communities around the country are allowing music education to fall
through the cracks,” says Michael Blakeslee, deputy executive director of the National Association for Music Education (www.MENC.org). “By signing this Statement of Principles, these organizations are saying they agree that the arts need to be kept alive in our nation’s schools.”

Despite the tremendous support, Blakeslee remains concerned that resources for arts education are dwindling and will continue to wane in coming years. He points to a 2004 study by the Council for Basic Education that reports 25 percent of school principals expect to cut back on their arts programs in upcoming budget cycles.
The implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is partly to blame, he says.

“NCLB has had negative consequences, for in an effort to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) schools are funneling resources into other programs rather than the arts. I can understand why schools feel the need to do this, but they are missing an essential fact: Music education is good for a child’s personal development. It
makes them better readers, helps them do better in math, and teaches them self-discipline. Cutting music programs from the curriculum just doesn’t make sense.”

Need proof that music does a child good? Blakeslee points to data from a 1998 study that showed music students received more academic honors than students who didn’t participate in music programs. Additionally, a 1990 study by researchers at New York University showed students who participated in arts programs in
elementary and middle school had higher self-esteem and more advanced thinking skills than those who didn’t have a music class.

“The reason music makes the brain work better,” explains Dr. John J. Ratey, author of A User’s Guide to the Brain, “is because a musician is constantly adjusting decisions on tempo, tone, style, rhythm, phrasing and feeling — and all the while is literally training the brain to become incredibly good at conducting numerous
activities at once. Dedicated practice of this orchestration can have a great payoff for lifelong skills, intelligence, and an ability for self-knowledge and expression.”

Richard Riley, who served as the U.S. Secretary of Education under President Clinton, shared this thought about music education: “[Spanish cellist Pablo] Casals says music fills him with the wonder of life and the ‘incredible marvel’ of being
human. Ives says it expands his mind and challenges him to be a true individual.

[American conductor and composer Leonard] Bernstein says it is enriching and ennobling. To me, that sounds like a good case for making music and the arts an integral part of every child’s education. Studying music and the arts elevates a child’s education, expands their horizons, and teaches them to appreciate the won-
der of life.”

Music, Maestro

When it comes to teaching students about music, teachers in the City Schools are passionate about their mission. At Providence Elementary, for example, music teachers Stacy Schraa and Christine Corbeil worked for months preparing 3rd
graders to play ﬁve songs on their recorders. Among them was “Jitterbag,” which the students performed to a packed auditorium on May 3.

“Throughout the year, we expose our students to as many types of music as possible,” says Schraa, who holds a degree in music education from George Mason University and has found fame as the lead singer in a handful of local rock bands.
“Our goal is to correlate what they learn in class to their everyday life. We talk about the music they listen to — and use that as the example.”

She and Corbeil explain how rock and pop music have roots in American folk songs, and that Rap music is reminiscent of an African heritage. They also teach kids Latin, Asian, and other ethnic songs and dances.

“Music is something that connects us to each other and reminds us where we come from,”Schraa says. “It is our common language.”

Lanier Middle School’s instrumental teacher Geoffrey Seffens has dedicated his career to teaching children the language of music. A native of Fairfax City, who himself graduated from Lanier, Seffens went on to study at the Cincinnati College
Conservatory of Music before returning to teach school in 1979.

In the last 25 years he has helped build the middle school music program, which includes at least two-thirds of Lanier students. He has help, of course. Cindy Crumb directs Lanier’s orchestra, and Dee Bradee runs the school’s chorus. Together, these three dedicated professionals have trained hundreds of teens to compete in the All-District Band and Orchestra and All-County Chorus.

More importantly, the teachers say they hope they have taught students to love music.

“The SOLs and NCLB have become such a big part of all of our lives, and as a result we are incredibly focused on testing and spend much of the school year preparing students to do well on those tests,” Seffens adds. “While I agree it is critical that students master the core curriculum, we also need to focus on how important it is to teach students to appreciate the arts. There is so much research to back up the fact that an understanding of music, painting, and other artistic expression is critical to the development of the whole person. We shouldn’t lose sight of that.”

Music teacher Cindy Crumb agrees. “Those who have a background in music seem to have a better grasp of who they are, what they can do, and then go forward
and do big things with their lives,” says Crumb, a professional violinist with the Fairfax Symphony who, in addition to teaching at Lanier, teaches orchestra at Fairfax High.

“What’s really interesting is that the smartest kids in the school are usually the ones who play a musical instrument. I know this because during AP testing, my classes are empty. It’s anecdotal evidence, perhaps, but I truly believe mastering music and the arts makes a child smarter.”

FHS Fusion: Dancing from the Inside Out

Magic also happens in Melanie Lalande’s dance class at FHS’s Academy for
Communications and the Arts. At this year’s show, entitled Fusion and per-
formed May 13-14, students and parents ﬁlled the auditorium to watch the Academy dancers glide around the stage to live music performed by students from the FHS orchestra and computer technology classes.

“Dance is a means of integrating mind, body and spirit,” Lalande explains. “My students are are all amazing, but sometimes the pressure of doing well in school and getting into a good college makes them feel like they are less than terriﬁc. When they dance they let go of all that.

They just feel the music and can be inside their bodies. In a world where we walk around inside our heads most of the time, it is great to have programs at the Academy that show our kids they are OK just because they are them-

Dancing Through History

At Daniels Run Elementary, music teachers Caroline Desmond and Jennifer Jackson wanted to come up with a fun project that reinforced the American History portion
of this year’s 6th grade Social Studies SOLs — and taught students a lot about
music. So they got together and wrote, “American Rhapsody,” Daniels Run’s ﬁrst-ever musical performed Wed. June 15 at 7 p.m.

Since the beginning of February, students have been practicing for the show that includes American folk songs, and scenes that depict life in Virginia from the settlement at Jamestown through the Civil War.

“It was spectacular to see how hard all the students worked to prepare for the musical,” says Desmond. “In addition to having a ball performing the songs and
dances, I believe they really learned a lot about American history. Music and dance are mediums that simply draw kids in. It’s like magic.”

City of Fairfax Schools

Fairfax High School

Lanier Middle School

Providence Elementary School

Daniels Run Elementary

Road Map to Success in the Fine Arts