Arts Education Gaining STEAM

Arts Education Gaining STEAM

INSTANT ARTS CLASSROOM FUNDS

Imagine a community that embraces the arts as a fundamental tool to enhance learning. This is a vision Arts Quincy has for Adams County at every grade level and in every school. Instant Arts Classroom Funds provides an additional resource to make that vision a reality to bring out the joy in learning. Through creative experiences for students and teachers alike, the program helps local schools cultivate and sustain the arts that are so essential to education.

During the 2018/2019 school year, 7,500 students at 17 area public and parochial schools will have arts, music, theater or dance experience through Arts Quincy’s donorsupported Instant Arts Program. The total reach of the program has tripled in size over the past three years because teachers, parents and administrators see the growing need for engaging and creative activities for students at all levels.

STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) is catching on nationwide because educational leaders and business professionals see the value that having creative and adaptable thinkers adds in any industry. Teachers agree that providing these opportunities helps improve critical thinking skills, confidence and engagement in the classroom, and studies show the arts help students of all learning styles feel a sense of achievement by learning better social and character development and self-awareness.

Lori Biswell of Baldwin School writes, “We have been so thankful that the Arts Quincy Instant Arts Program has funded our students to be able to experience many arts activities that many of our kids would never be able to do on their own. Some students don’t excel in traditional academic subjects, but find their passion in the arts.”

One of the strengths of the program is that teachers are able to choose from a large menu of options across arts disciplines so that their activity matches their curriculum and students’ grade level or interests. Some of the most popular programs that teachers chose this year include trips to Quincy Community Theatre, visits from Quincy Art Center, dance classes, school-wide performance groups and visits from historical reenactors.

“Arts and cultural experiences like these provide authentic and unforgettable experiences for all students, including those that may fall into underserved and low-income communities,” says Laura Sievert, Arts Quincy’s Executive Director. “Experiencing the arts from a young age nurtures a student’s desire to have a lifetime filled with creativity. The arts promote engagement, spark imagination and improve personal and social development, which are essential skills for a collaborative, communicative and innovative workforce and life.”

By becoming an Arts Quincy Member, or donating directly to the Instant Arts Program, you are supporting this continued education and arts access within the community. Thank you to our 2018/2019 major Instant Arts Sponsors, the Tracy Family Foundation, HomeBank, the Stillwell Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council Association and to all of the business and individual members of Arts Quincy who continue to believe that arts education is essential in Adams County.

To donate, visit artsquincy.org/ membership or send a check to Arts Quincy, 300 Civics Center Plaza #244, Quincy, IL 62301.

Thank you to our additional sponsors: Kay Wilkinson, Erin Fierge, Anonymous, Cindy Spake, Meenal Mamdani, Carlee Scharnhorst, Amy Garant, Earl Bricker, Quincy Service League, Arthur B. and Lela Lindsay, Katherine Broemmel Endowment for the Arts and the Paul H. and Anne B. Gardner Memorial Fund through the Community Foundation.