For every student, whether attending school virtually or in person, access to an arts curriculum is imperative. It is even more important now after the pandemic has kept students apart for so many months. Arts help us all connect and feel compassion. Lawmakers should prioritize funding for arts education.
Art is essential to adolescent development. The arts engage with the brain’s hippocampus, which builds an emotional awareness and fosters empathy, especially at a young age. Research has also shown a connection between arts education and increased academic achievement.
Yet, while the arts provide tools to live a happy, balanced life, arts education is often among the first programs cut from the school budget. As the pandemic recedes, students need access to the arts to heal from months of isolation and to readjust to life conducted face to face.
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Pleasant Valley School District is accepting applications for an open seat on its board of trustees through 4 p.m. on June 18.
Based on California Education Code, the trustees had 60 days from the vacancy to either order an election or make a provisional appointment. They decided to go with the latter option at their meeting last week. The cost of a special election would exceed $200,000, therefore the board voted to proceed with a provisional appointment process, a news release from the district stated.
In order to qualify, those interested in applying must be 18 or older, a resident of the district, a registered voter and not be disqualified from holding civil office under state and federal law.
A friend of mine proudly shared a photo of his granddaughter who just graduated from a private high school in Arizona.
She was neatly dressed in a school uniform – a neatly pressed skirt, crisp white shirt and accompanying blazer. He asked me what I thought about school uniforms and why public schoo