Fine arts critical to student success

Mary Kidd Flemming / Culpeper Star Exponent
Published: February 12, 2008

John Sykes, President of VH1, has stated, "In every successful business there is one budget line that never gets cut. It's called 'Product Development,' and it's key to any company's future growth. Music education is critical to the product development of this nation's most important resource - our children."

A quality education must include the fine arts.
Many times the fine arts are seen only as supplements to an academically superior education, viewed as separate entities, mutually exclusive of academics. Studies have proven, however, that this is not the case.

There is a direct correlation between fine arts and academics.
The College Board reported in 2006 that SAT test takers with coursework in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 43 points higher on the math portion. A 2007 Harris Poll found that 88 percent of participants with a post graduate education had participated in the fine arts while in school. It is not surprising, then, that the last three valedictorians of CCHS all sang with the school's top ensemble, The Troubadours.

A majority of the CCHS advanced placement and honors students are also involved in band, choir, art and/or athletics.
The fine arts and AP classes, like team sports, teach students how to strive for individual excellence in a group setting while working toward a common goal. They learn discipline, endur-ance, organization and flexibility. They become a family, bound  through the sustained effort to achieve excellence together. The fine arts - like team sports - unite students across socio-economic, academic and racial divides.

Providing a quality education that addresses all areas of a student's intelligence is imperative to building Culpeper County's most important resource, our children. Funding the budget and meeting the needs of the children is a challenging endeavor for the Board of Supervisors and the School Board. It is my hope that they will draw from their strengths (most likely acquired and developed during their own choir, band or sports education) to do what is best for our children and our county.