Education
Education

Cobb school on a different beat to boost learning

Antar Green (left), Brianna Espinoza, Kathleen Alfaro and Nia Murchison work together to draw a bug character during class at Powder Springs Elementary School. In recent years, school leaders used the acronym STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) to stress the importance of those subjects. Many now use STEAM to include the arts. Schools are integrating arts into how they teach other subjects. JONATHAN PHILLIPS / SPECIAL

Credit: Jonathan Phillips

Credit: Jonathan Phillips

Antar Green (left), Brianna Espinoza, Kathleen Alfaro and Nia Murchison work together to draw a bug character during class at Powder Springs Elementary School. In recent years, school leaders used the acronym STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) to stress the importance of those subjects. Many now use STEAM to include the arts. Schools are integrating arts into how they teach other subjects. JONATHAN PHILLIPS / SPECIAL
By
Feb 15, 2016

Powder Springs Elementary School principal Debbie Broadnax was tasked a few years ago with improving the school's reading scores and increasing classroom participation.

She looked at a few programs and thought arts integration might work.

For the last two years, the Cobb County school has tried using visual and performing arts in math, science, reading and other classes to boost academic performance. It is the only elementary school in the district using arts integration, but Broadnax is encouraging other Cobb principals to try it. ArtsNow, a non-profit organization, has worked to train teachers in arts integration.

On a recent Thursday, one fourth-grade class acted out pages from Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin. Students in another fourth-grade class were making sculptures based on the description of a character in a book. A fifth-grade class gathered in a circle, each tapping a pair of drumsticks as part of a math lesson.

Students say such teaching gets them more excited about school and helps them to retain more information. Teachers say the arts integration program has improved student participation.

“This is much more engaging than it would be if (students) filled out a worksheet,” Broadnax said in an interview.

To read more about the current state of arts education in Georgia, click here

About the Author

Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.

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