Sage Creek High's STEM focus needs the arts

It took a 3-2 split vote to pull it off, but the CUSD school board's decision to use the remaining $33 million of Prop P bond funds to build a performing arts center at Sage Creek High School should have been a no-brainer. The other option was a more expensive aquatics center that would provide far fewer benefits to students.

Board staff reported Carlsbad High students use their Cultural Arts Center at a rate 2.5 times greater than they use the Monroe Pool, and that UC and CSU admission requirements include a year of visual and performing arts.

Sage Creek has been designated a school of choice, open to all students in the district, regardless of home address, with an academic focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). That's just another reason the campus needs a performing arts center. With all the emphasis on standardized test scores in English and math, the importance of the arts in schools is often overlooked.

When test scores are reported each year, ranking students by grade level proficiency in academic subjects, you won't find reports of their proficiency in the arts. I was surprised to learn there are, indeed, standards of proficiency in the visual and performing arts for California students from Pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. They're on the same CDE website as the Common Core State Standards in English-Language Arts and Mathematics (http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/).

Here's a small sample of the proficiency standards for theatre in one year of study in grades nine through twelve.

"1.2 Document observations and perceptions of production elements through discussion and reflective writing.

2.1 Make acting choices, using script analysis, character research, reflection, and revision.

2.2 Write dialogues and scenes, applying basic dramatic structure: exposition, complication, conflict, crises, climax, and resolution.

3.1 Identify and compare how film, theatre, television, and electronic media productions influence values and behaviors.

3.2 Describe the ways in which playwrights reflect and influence their culture in such works as Raisin in the Sun, Antigone, and the Mahabarata.

5.0 Students apply what they learn in theatre, film/video, and electronic media across subject areas. They develop competencies and creative skills in problem solving, communication, and time management that contribute to lifelong learning and career skills.

5.2 Manage time, prioritize responsibilities, and meet completion deadlines for a production as specified by group leaders, team members, or directors."

As a former high school English teacher, I would have liked my students to take that class. Not as a steppingstone to the red carpet on Oscar night. But because the skills and knowledge they're expected to gain would serve them well as students in postsecondary schools, careers, citizenship and life.

I'm a big fan of the Common Core State Standards in English-Language Arts and Math, but I don't think it will do much to close the achievement gap. Students with traditional learning styles from supportive homes will continue to be the big winners. Because of CCSS they'll be more competitive on the international job market.

But students who suffer in the classroom and blossom in the arts and technical subjects, and those who face obstacles in their lives outside of school, will continue to be left behind. The only hope for them lies in universal pre-school, expanded Head Start programs, and more learning opportunities in the arts and technical education.