The result is a concoction of epic educational proportions!
Imagine cultivating artistic drives, sparks of creativity and confidence in our children, long before they reach high school art class. Imagine exposing children as young as kindergarten to significant artistic endeavors in fine and performance art, the opportunity to learn any instrument they wish, audition for performances and share their talent with the community before leaving elementary school.
Arts Academy at Summit offers kindergarten through eighth grade students the standard, board-approved Canton City Schools curriculum, but infuses visual art, drama, music, singing and dance into the class work. Canton City Schools’ students grades K-2 are admitted on a lottery basis, grade three and up may apply to attend the academy, and are evaluated by a team of teachers specific to the specialty they wish to study. The ability of potential students is assessed through auditions and portfolio reviews, and the capacity of each student to speak about his or her submission.
The Arts Academy admitted 276 students this year and several of the grades have enrollment waiting lists. In addition to the project based and servicelearning arts program, the Academy also houses Canton’s High Ability Program (CHAP), a district-wide accelerated program for grades 4-7.
Arts Academy students will inquire, explore, create, and perform through an integrated arts and academic program to raise achievement and develop character. When students join the Arts Academy, they and their parents sign a performance contract, outlining their responsibilities. The academy expects it students to participate and maintain their effort in both standard and artistic curriculum.
It’s not just the school concept that blends art and academics; individual projects at the Academy often combine the two, such as a recent neighborhood mural project that students in seventh grade are working on. Students have to rely on artistic and language art skills to create the mural for downtown Canton designed around the concept of unity, peace and integration.
“Research shows that the arts improve student learning,” said Tom Piccari, Arts Academy principal. “Our kids are finding that they have other strengths because of the exposure they’re receiving to the arts.” This is Piccari’s tenth year as a principal for Canton City Schools, and his first year with the Academy.
All types of artistic media are explored at the academy, and some areas are even approached with future careers in mind, like the recent billboard design competition for Doctor’s Day. The three winning graphic designs are being showcased in different corners of the county. Academy students are also required to apply and take jobs from the Help Wanted board, teaching them critical, core skills for future career development.
And like the rest of the Stark County arts organizations, the Arts Academy has been preparing for the arrival of KIMONO as Art. The students have created Kimono, Japanese fans and teapots, and are hosting for their own gala KIMONO opening at Mercy Medical Center. Every student enrolled at the Academy will take a field trip to the Canton Museum of Art to view the exhibit and participate in other Kimono activities.
“The students and parents that believe in the Arts Academy at Summit are the students and parents that believe that the arts can and will make a difference in their lives. We offer our youth a place where they have the opportunity to grow and we can’t underestimate the effect we’ll have on these children’s successes,” said Piccari. For more information about the Arts Academy at Summit, please visit http://arts.ccsdistrict.org.
