Art Class Comeback

Two members of the President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities on Wednesday listened to kindergartners sing and watched third-graders weave coasters in the same fashion as Navajo Indians as part of a three-day tour of the Redondo Beach Unified School District.

Redondo Beach was selected from more than 500 districts nationwide as one of eight school districts where committee members will observe firsthand how the schools are implementing art education. The district, which offers more than 30 art programs in its 12 schools, is the only one in California the group is visiting.

The committee is working with the Goals 2000 Arts Education Partnership, a group of national organizations committed to promoting the arts in primary and secondary schools.

The two groups plan to use the information gathered from the school tours to create a World Wide Web site that will provide districts with strategies to bring the arts back to campuses. It is scheduled to go online in June.

“In the last 15 years art programs have been cut all across the country,” said Dawn Ellis, who is heading the traveling team. “There is a desire to reverse that . . . but many districts don’t know how to bring arts back. We’re hoping that this project provides some answers.”

A former arts educator, Ellis has visited four other school districts around the country to investigate how schools with limited budgets can add subjects such as music, painting, theater and dance.

Accompanying Ellis was Warren Newman, former superintendent of the South Pasadena Unified School District. During their visit to Redondo Beach--selected for its wide-ranging programs and success in maintaining arts education--they sought to learn how the district incorporates the arts into every facet of education.

The district has been widely recognized for its innovative use of technology, which includes an interactive program with the Getty Education Institute, in which elementary school children study one classical artist per month, and the Arts Knowledge Center, an online art library. Students also operate BeachNet, an Internet provider, and create Web sites for the city and local businesses.

Ellis and Newman met Wednesday with students who are taking part in an after-school institute for arts and entertainment education at Redondo Union High School called “Broadcast Showcase.” Students in the class are learning all aspects of putting on a dramatic production and videotaping it.

Additionally, the pair talked with students who are writing, directing and producing a musical with students in Illinois and Texas. They have been rehearsing via video conference, and in March all will come to Redondo Beach to perform for the National School Board Assn. The musical will be carried live on the Internet.

District officials said community support has kept the arts alive in Redondo Beach. The Parent Teachers Assn. pays for the Hands On Art Program, which trains parents to teach art in the classrooms, local businesses kick in money for several other programs and the city picks up the bill for the district’s music program.

School officials said they are thrilled to be recognized by the arts committee and noted that the district’s involvement has led them to reflect on the diversity of their arts program.

“It’s made us realize how much we’ve got going for us . . . how privileged we are to have so many programs,” said Sandy Clifton, assistant superintendent of instructional services.