The Redmond School District has no funding for visual art education for the districts 8 elementary schools for the 2024-2025 school year. The office of RSD superintendent Dr. Cline determined that the cost of the project would be $10K per school for the year. The RSD also determined that a series of artists-in-residence during school hours would provide the most amount of benefits for the most amount of students. With 3000 children in K-5 in the RSD the cost comes to $26.66 per student for a years worth of visual art education. The benefits of early childhood visual arts education are well known:

• Fine motor skills. Grasping pencils, crayons, chalk, and paintbrushes helps children develop their fine motor muscles. This development will help your child with writing, other tasks that require controlled movements.

• Cognitive development. Art can help children learn and practice skills like patterning and cause and effect They can also practice critical thinking skills by making a mental plan or picture of what they intend to create and following through on their plan.

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• Math skills. Children can learn, create, and begin to understand concepts like size, shape, making comparisons, counting and spatial reasoning.

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• Language skills. As children describe and share their artwork, as well as their process, they develop language skills. 

 

According to Dr. Charan Cline, Redmond School District Superintendent, "Annual survey data from our families, students, and teachers consistently confirms that our stakeholders value well-rounded learning experiences which include visual, and performing arts, music, and career-technical education." Through Jumpstart Art, DCAA is determined to provide the means for students to receive art learning required to round out their education. 

 

Dry Canyon Arts Association has been operating a pilot project for the past 2.5 yrs funding artists-in-residence with funds from art raffle proceeds and small county grants. Twice a year funded the pilot program at the rate of $3,000 per occasion which has gone to 2 of the districts 8 elementary schools. This has provided a 2-3 week visual art education program. 

 

Jumpstart Art will fund artists-in-residence 2-3 week programs, 4-5 times per year in each of the 8 elementary schools for all grades. Dry Canyon Arts Association will supervise the hiring of artists, the purchase of art materials, the distribution of funds, and the creation of recognition programs to be attended by students, teachers, parents and members of the community. The services of Arts For Learning NW will be utilized to supply and vet artists who wish to be involved in the program. Arts for Learning can be reached at https://artsforlearningnw.org/about-us/central-oregon/

 

Funding for Jumpstart Art will come from concerned citizens, and public and private foundations. For more information concerning Jumpstart Art contact DCAA Chair Mel Archer chair@drycanyonarts.org