EDUCATION

Community pushes back as Sioux Falls considers cuts to fine arts class time

Hundreds of concerned parents and community members took to social media to express concerns about a leaked Sioux Falls School District proposal to cut the time elementary students spend on fine arts instruction.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the amount of time the district was considering cutting from art, music and PE. The plan would reduce time spent per semester by 300 minutes.

Hundreds of parents and community members have taken to social media to express concerns about a leaked Sioux Falls School District document outlining a plan to cut back on the amount of time elementary students spend learning fine arts.

The document, obtained by the Argus Leader, outlines a plan to reduce the amount of time spent on art, music and physical education classes by more than 300 minutes per semester. The plan would also change how elementary students participate in band and orchestra.

District officials confirmed the document came from the district but said it was one of several "sample schedules" being considered.

Superintendent Brian Maher said Wednesday the district has no plans to cut funding to fine arts, but he did not deny that cutting instruction time was on the table.

"I can promise everyone in the community that we have no goal to undermine the arts," he said. "We are looking at the (instructional) minutes compared to what we have right now, and we are taking feedback." 

Maher said school board members are expected to get an update on the process of looking at changing schedules later this month, and any feedback received will help inform the board on any possible action.

"We're smack dab in the middle of it," Maher said. "...We're not at an end point yet, so I ask for the gift of time before we jump to any conclusions for how this looks."

'It All Matters' group draws hundreds

Concern and speculation about the "sample schedule" made the rounds on social media Tuesday evening after district officials held the first of three initial meetings with administrators and teachers Monday evening to discuss ways to free up time for elementary teachers during the school day.

A group of concerned parents, fine arts supporters and others sprouted to form the "It All Matters" Facebook group, which had nearly 1,000 members by Wednesday morning, less than 24 hours after it formed.

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Proposed changes not tied to budget

Maher said the sample schedules arose from conversations over the last several years involving the district's strategic plan and teacher focus groups, one of them being elementary school teachers with concerns about "chaotic" schedules.

The Argus Leader reached out to teachers for this report, but none were willing to speak on the record for fear or retribution.

Maher added that Assistant Superintendent Teresa Boysen is leading the district's efforts on the schedule reform.

"I think she's doing a masterful job, but I'd hate to evaluate her outcome right now, because we're not done," he said.

Maher also made it clear later in the day at a school board budget work session that the possible schedule change was not connected to the district's proposed 2020 budget, which will be approved in July.

"It isn't about budget cuts," said Maher, who is a board member of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. "It isn't about fitting into this small square when it comes to the budget. It's also not about cutting any particular area. What it is about is balancing everything we have to put into that schedule."

'I just know it matters to them'

Heather DeWit, the founder of the Facebook group, started seeing an outpouring of opposition to the possible plan after she posted about the important role fine arts has had in her own life and encouraged others to speak out, she said. 

"I’m just a mom who feels passionately," she told the Argus Leader Wednesday afternoon. "I remember what it meant for me when I had music in elementary. I see the light in my children’s eyes when they come home from school talking about music, art, PE and band. When I see that light, I just know it matters to them."

DeWit, who has a middle school student and a fifth-grader in Sioux Falls schools, found out about the possible changes from a friend who works for the district, she said. And then she confirmed the idea existed by emailing Boysen, she said.  

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Boysen responded quickly and mentioned the discussion surrounding the possible changes had been going on for three years, DeWit said. The district was looking for a schedule that offered more opportunities for intervention and enrichment blocks for students, and collaboration time with teachers, DeWit said Boysen told her.

District spokeswoman DeeAnn Konrad also said the possible changes did not have anything to do with literacy intervention, though people might connect the possible idea with the district's plan to expand its new literacy intervention program for next year under the proposed budget.

Still, DeWit was shocked and surprised by the possibility, she said. 

"The great irony is that I learned my advocacy, leadership and empathy skills as a music student in the Sioux Falls School District," she said. "The district only has themselves to thank for someone who has the passion to speak out for kids."

Parents urged to write in with concerns

Meanwhile, the It All Matters group is also urging people to voice their concerns by sending letters and emails to the district. 

One of those letters is coming from Paul Schilf, the executive director of the South Dakota Music Education Association

In an interview Wednesday morning, Schilf said cuts like those in the alleged proposal are a slippery slope.

“As soon as you make one cut of time or staff, it’s easy to make more cuts,” Schilf said. “Music education is always an easy target. It costs money, people view it as a periphery. And it’s not.”

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Nikki McCormack is a parent of two children in the district and a certified K-12 music teacher who gives private lessons in Sioux Falls.

McCormack said she's personally seen the difference the arts have made in the lives of her own children and those she teaches, especially her son Jamie, a fifth grader at Eugene Fields.

"Band and orchestra let him stand up and become a leader," McCormack said. "He even said to me yesterday 'Mom, if there are any meetings about this, I'll come and speak.'"

"When I look at our kids and other people’s kids and how much the arts have done for them," she continued, "we’d sure hate to see any of that cut."

The feedback from teachers and parents also encouraged another Sioux Falls parent to speak directly to the board at Wednesday's meeting.

Amy Scott-Stoltz, a local education advocate and mother to a high school student, urged board members and district officials to listen to educators on the ground floor.

She said teachers feel like the possible changes are already a done deal, though many of them have creative ideas that could help the elementary school schedule. And she urged the district to have a more open dialogue with the staff.

"As a parent of a student, I can't imagine cutting that time, especially at the elementary level and especially with the winters like we have where they don't get outside for recess," she said. "I can't imagine the specials time being cut as well. That would academically harm many children."

Schilf, who cited several studies showing connections between arts education, higher grades and lower dropout rates in the letter, said that he hoped hard facts would be able to make a difference.

“I think a lot of parents — and rightfully so — are writing from their experiences and their heart. But I think the school board — I don’t believe that they will disregard those, but they may not hold as much value as concrete research.”

Not to discount the value and importance of what those parents have experienced — after all, Schilf has been involved in music education for 50 years, and currently works at Popplers Music.

“I’ve witnessed how it changes the lives of students, of parents,” Schilf said. “I see it on a daily basis when kids come in and are excited about playing instruments, and watching parents find out things about their kids they never knew.”