Mr. Kossasky,
It has come to my attention that an aspect of the St. Andrew’s curriculum, non-elective middle school dance, as been eliminated for the upcoming year. I understand that with the state of the economy, cuts have to be made, however I urge you not to make them at the expense of the student’s unique education that they receive at St. Andrew’s. By taking away any St. Andrew’s program, in this case, middle school dance, I believe St. Andrew’s is separating, and thus weakening, the four pillars of academics, arts, athletics, and spirituality, that are meant to be equal in creating a well-rounded education for growing students. This is a founding principle of the school that I believe makes it stand out among the other choices of private institutions in are area.
Middle school is a very important time for students; they learn the fundamentals of all the aspects of their future education, which are then continued in high school. In high school, students do not have as much time to do all the programs that St. Andrew’s has to offer, so they must pick and choose based on what they are interested in. If students are not given the opportunity to try out dance, or any other form of the arts for that matter, until high school, the number of participants will drop. This will be due to the fact that they are unfamiliar with dance and subsequently choose an art that they are more comfortable with, because they had been introduced to it early on. Exposure to the arts early on, such as in middle school, I believe is crucial in a child’s development. It teaches tolerance, acceptance, and appreciation of a field that, I will admit, is difficult to understand when first looking at it.
I entered St. Andrew’s in 6th grade, and attended the school until I graduated in 2004. From what I remember of the schedule in middle school, students attended a different arts class for half of a trimester. Those classes were music, which was divided up into performing and instrumental; visual, which was divided up into 3-Dimensional and 2-Dimensional; drama; and finally, dance. Looking back on this schedule, I believe that this was an excellent idea for the growing middle school students. Each student was given a taste of all the different art programs that are offered by St. Andrew’s, and have the opportunity to be taught by the very talented, and encouraging, arts teachers that we have at our school. After receiving a glimpse of what was offered in the arts department during middle school, high school students were allowed to choose one or several areas to pursue further in their rounded education that St. Andrew’s offered. This system allowed young middle school students to try out, for a short period of time, every discipline of art. I believe this same idea was used in middle school sports programs as well, and achieved the same type of beneficial results, allowing students to refine and focus their interests in a particular area once they reach high school. If students were not given this opportunity to ‘try out’ all aspects of the arts department, many would have gone on to high school not experiencing all that the arts have to offer.
I would like to share with you my own experience in the arts classes during middle school. I have always been interested in the visual arts from a very young age, so when I entered middle school I already knew that I wanted to take as many visual art classes as possible; and, to be honest, I was not thrilled to be taking any of the performing arts classes. However, during a drama class, I became very interested in theater, especially the visual aspect of it that takes place behind the scenes. This was an area of the performing arts that I never thought of becoming involved in before, and I suddenly found myself wanting to take more classes in technical theater, which I did once I reached high school. Tech Crew was a huge part of my St. Andrew’s career, and is filled with many fond memories, as well as an excellent basic educational background of theater that I continue to use to this day. Had it not been for a brief exposure in middle school to technical theater, I would not have become involved in it in high school. Thinking about my experience, and how much it helped mold me into the person I am today, I am extremely saddened that current middle school students will not have that same opportunity that I did in finding an interest in something unexpected, such as dance, that they were not previously aware of.
I strongly urge you to reconsider your decision of eliminating any aspect of the St. Andrew’s curriculum. I understand the financial issues that the economy is in right now, and the impact that it has on a small private school like St. Andrews. However, surely there could be other steps that the school can take that would avoid weakening the four pillars that St. Andrew’s was founded on, and still allow students to receive a well-rounded education.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
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