Staff writer

agillooly@observer-reporter.com

When Nina Unitas met with a parent looking to enroll her children in Canon-McMillan School District, one of her first questions dealt with the availability of art programs.

"Her current district phased out music totally. Her kids have library and art - that's it," said Unitas, assistant principal at Muse and Cecil elementary schools.

The role that fine arts plays in public schools has been an area of debate among parents, school officials and myriad nonprofit organizations.

A report released last year by the Washington, D.C.-based Center of Education reported that, while the majority of U.S districts have increased instruction time for reading and math in elementary schools since the No Child Left Behind Act became law in 2002, time spent on other subjects has decreased by nearly 30 percent.

While increases in reading and math instruction time rose drastically over the study period, 44 percent of the districts reported cutting time in elementary subjects such as science, art and music.

On average, nearly 30 minutes of such instruction is slashed from the daily to-do list.

"Generally, the amount of time during the school week for visual arts and music is rarely equal to time given to other subjects," said Richard Deasy, director of the Arts Education Partnership. The nonprofit organization supports the arts in education and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Considering that the arts supplement other classes and give teachers different approaches to learning, Deasy recommends districts try to make a firm commitment to retaining them.

"It is a brave, important and wise decision to do that," Deasy said.

Superintendent Nick Bayat said Canon-McMillan already has taken that step.

Bayat said the district struggles with arts funding each year but last year hired a new band assistant.

"Our philosophy is that the arts have supported our ability to reinforce math and writing courses," he said.

In contrast, Bayat's former district, Big Beaver Falls, made drastic changes in the arts programs, which included cutting class time for music and art from two days a week to one.

But at Canon-McMillan, Unitas said district students attend their art classes each day, and she even works with the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

Through that organization, students at Cecil and Muse elementary school were able to rub elbows with a resident artist - an initiative Unitas hopes to repeat.

Student Sarah Harbert said she's recognized the district's efforts and appreciates them.

A senior at Canon-McMillan High School, she said the creative outlet that her art classes provide has helped her develop into a more well-rounded person.

Harbert said she finally realized she should take such a course because, during her sophomore year, she put more effort into doodling on the edges of her notebooks during class than taking copious notes.

So far, she has enrolled in two art classes during her high school years, and she admitted making a beeline for the art rooms during her free periods.

Although Harbert is still mulling her college choices, she said her first pick is University of California, Santa Cruz. But no matter where she attends class, she has a gut feeling an art major might be in her future.

The art skills she honed during her years at Canon-McMillan changed more than just her class choice. It changed her entire way of thinking.

"For me, it is one of the most important things in my education," Harbert said. "It helps me step back from situations. I can see the bigger picture, and I can see beauty in everyday things."

But not all districts are able to fund arts programs as fully as they would like.

Jerry Chambers, vice president of Trinity Area School Board, said handling the arts is an emotional task - especially coming from a retired art teacher.

He said the district, while it still offers myriad fine-art classes, cut two art teachers - one from the high school and one from the middle school.

And he said there's little the district or board can do to beef up that part of the curriculum, which does include various art classes.

"Physical education and the fine arts do not drive the curriculum," Chambers said. "NCLB (and other state testing does). That's definitely taken a bite out of the fine arts."

NCLB sets yearly academic benchmarks that school districts must meet or be penalized.

He said when more instruction time is needed in math and reading, there is little else to trim from the school day.

"As these things come to the forefront, then something's got to give," he said.

And the entire situation rips him apart.

"I'm in a situation where I'm torn. I know the value of art. When I was in school, the art department was where I lived," Chambers said. "My heart is in one place, but as a board member, my mind has to be in another place."

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