By Theresa Woehrel:
Thousands of students in Erie County will be amongst those most adversely affected by funding cuts by the State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). With five of Buffalo's arts education organizations receiving no funding at all for education programming, and a devastating 69% decrease in overall arts education funding in the County, many schools have lost a vital educational resource.
Folkloric Productions Dance Company, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Musicians United for Superior Education, Institute for Arts in Education in Western New York and Young Audiences of Western New York lost all funding, while Just Buffalo Literacy Center and the Coalition of Arts Providers for Children experienced substantial reductions.
"Western New York has suffered disproportionately," said Cynnie Gaasch, Executive Director for Young Audiences WNY. "Erie County was awarded only 31% of the funding received last year, while Brooklyn received 107% and New York 99.9%."
Young Audiences WNY, like the other arts organizations, presents professional teaching artists who engage young people in creative learning through the arts. Interactive programming, including long-term arts residencies reinforce core curriculum topics including math, science, and social studies, and are designed to build 21st century life skills such as problem-solving, creativity, and self-awareness.
"I was amazed with how engaged the students were," said Susan Mikula, a teacher at Holland Elementary School, of her experiences working with Young Audiences. "The children were excited and enthusiastic to learn about world cultures through this creative process."
The nine schools directly partnering with the cultural organizations that lost all funding represent over six thousand students. These partnerships with local schools also provide over 50 locals artists with opportunities to earn income, which comes back into the area's economy through taxes, mortgages, and patronage of local businesses.
"The arts are an economic engine for Western New York. These funding cuts are not only hurting our students but also the financial livelihood of our communities," said Gaasch. "Young Audiences alone provides artists in Erie County and further afield with over $240,000 of earned income each year. In 2009-2010 NYSCA funding leveraged matching contributions that made up $94,000 in earned income for artists."
Gaasch encourages supporters to write letters and place calls to NYSCA and their local political representatives for more equitable funding of arts education funding across the State.
Lead image: Jennifer Russo working on Mandalas with Kindergarteners at Holland Elementary
Inset image: Annette Daniels-Taylor with 4th and 8th graders at #43 Buffalo's Lovejoy Discovery School reciting their poetry
View image
Thousands of students in Erie County will be amongst those most adversely affected by funding cuts by the State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). With five of Buffalo's arts education organizations receiving no funding at all for education programming, and a devastating 69% decrease in overall arts education funding in the County, many schools have lost a vital educational resource.
Folkloric Productions Dance Company, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Musicians United for Superior Education, Institute for Arts in Education in Western New York and Young Audiences of Western New York lost all funding, while Just Buffalo Literacy Center and the Coalition of Arts Providers for Children experienced substantial reductions.
"Western New York has suffered disproportionately," said Cynnie Gaasch, Executive Director for Young Audiences WNY. "Erie County was awarded only 31% of the funding received last year, while Brooklyn received 107% and New York 99.9%."
Young Audiences WNY, like the other arts organizations, presents professional teaching artists who engage young people in creative learning through the arts. Interactive programming, including long-term arts residencies reinforce core curriculum topics including math, science, and social studies, and are designed to build 21st century life skills such as problem-solving, creativity, and self-awareness."I was amazed with how engaged the students were," said Susan Mikula, a teacher at Holland Elementary School, of her experiences working with Young Audiences. "The children were excited and enthusiastic to learn about world cultures through this creative process."
The nine schools directly partnering with the cultural organizations that lost all funding represent over six thousand students. These partnerships with local schools also provide over 50 locals artists with opportunities to earn income, which comes back into the area's economy through taxes, mortgages, and patronage of local businesses.
"The arts are an economic engine for Western New York. These funding cuts are not only hurting our students but also the financial livelihood of our communities," said Gaasch. "Young Audiences alone provides artists in Erie County and further afield with over $240,000 of earned income each year. In 2009-2010 NYSCA funding leveraged matching contributions that made up $94,000 in earned income for artists."Gaasch encourages supporters to write letters and place calls to NYSCA and their local political representatives for more equitable funding of arts education funding across the State.
Lead image: Jennifer Russo working on Mandalas with Kindergarteners at Holland Elementary
Inset image: Annette Daniels-Taylor with 4th and 8th graders at #43 Buffalo's Lovejoy Discovery School reciting their poetry
Sorry, when education funding has doubled in real dollars since 1970 and the public schools are still a joke, my give-a-crap meter for funding scare stories is at an all time low.
I agree. NY spends more than any other state on education without smarter offspring. Schools can simply get more bang for the buck. Consolidate/merge schools and functions, get tough in teacher contract negotiations, make wider use of distance learning and other methods employed by colleges, use volunteers extensively and intelligently, as do nursing homes, hospitals and schools in other areas, do not lay off productive teachers---the ones that actually produce more educated students, abolish tenure rules and use “pay for performance”, lower superintendents salary and benfits, along with direct and indirect support expenses. (Nearly all of the region's 37 superintendents in the suburban, small city and rural communities outside Buffalo broke new ground this decade with annual salary-and-benefit packages that raced well beyond inflation and pushed many into the $200,000-a-year range!)