I am a junior in high school at the Center for Global Studies in Norwalk, CT. My personal journey with art has changed my life for the better. My opportunity to take IB Visual Arts in school is an opportunity that I wouldn't change for anything. Art has served as an outlet for creativity, a medium to exhibit my talents that would have otherwise remained hidden, and a means to develop essential life skills. Through art, I have learned critical thinking, teamwork, and how to give and receive feedback. I attribute these influential experiences to the art programs in schools, and every student should be able to access these wonderful programs that help foster creativity. My education in art benefits me both academically and socially; it has allowed me to use the skills I have learned in art classes in my other core classes, such as history, science, and math. In the words of my IB Visual Arts teacher, Ms. Santos, "Cutting art programs from schools essentially deprives students of an education," and "Art has taught me to think creatively from all different cultures in a way that I would have never been able to do any other way." Additionally, a recent study shows that children who receive art education will have more social behavior and social-emotional skills than students who don't. However, the reality is that art education is not universally available in American schools. 

This also simply does not apply to fine arts, but also to the performing arts and music programs. Inconsistent access to art programs is a growing national issue. According to data from the National Centre for Education Statistics, only 47% of secondary schools in America offered courses in visual arts during the 2009-2010 school year, and this number has since then been on a decline. Statistics also show that about 55% of school districts have either cut or massively decreased funding to the arts to the point where they are no longer sustainable. In Oklahoma, for example, nearly 30% of their school districts do not have any fine arts classes at all. Just last year in Stamford, where I live, music programs in elementary schools were on the chopping block with the budget cuts of $10 million in the Stamford public school system.

Art teachers are also at risk of losing their jobs. In Los Angeles alone, 1/3 of their district's 345 art teachers were let go between 2008 and 2012, and art programs were cut from most of the elementary schools. Art teachers are necessary in helping students become more well-rounded thinkers and teaching them to develop original ideas through creative thinking and hands-on learning. If their jobs are jeopardized, that will put the future learning of the next generation in danger. 

I am proposing a statewide implementation of art programs in all public schools in Stamford, Connecticut to ensure that children benefit from the richness art provides, not just those who can afford it, because art is a wonderful thing that everyone should have access to. To solve this issue, we will need the support of everyone, not just artists and art teachers, but students to show the Board of Education that art programs benefit all students and that to take art away is essentially limiting our options to be creative in school in ways that will benefit us in the future. If art programs are taken away, art teachers will not only lose their jobs, but students will be trained to think in black and white, they will not be able to think creatively and open-mindedly. Something needs to be done. Art programs should not be on the chopping block anymore when schools have to make budget cuts. Creativity should not be sacrificed to make effective decisions with the district's money.

Art should not be a luxury; it should be a necessity. We owe it to the students, the future creators, to offer them every opportunity to grow, develop, and express themselves through logical thinking and creativity, a curriculum that shapes well-rounded individuals. 

Please sign this petition and stand in solidarity with my mission to implement art programs in Stamford public schools.