We will be holding our breath until next next month as the school board decides who to pass out pink slips to and announces what classes or programs are going to be cut. By March 15th Santa Rosa School District has to square up a $20 million dollar debt. Although I am frustrated and sad that ArtQuest, the art program we moved to this town for, is possibly going to get slashed more since it’s part of this district I’m also a little bit hopeful because I know when things get tough, like really, really tough, big changes can happen for the good. We all saw this happen recently with the COVID pandemic and I’m hopeful something good amidst the cuts can come out of this crisis in regards to the ArtQuest program and the city schools budget crisis.
When it comes to specialized high school art programs like ArtQuest that are attached to the public schools there are few of them around the country. I know this because I have looked. ArtQuest at the Santa Rosa High School is unique and it is worth saving and supporting. I’ve always thought that ArtQuest was bound for more than being just a small extension of Santa Rosa High School and I’m hoping after hearing more from the community and staff that the board members in charge of the decision making can see how valuable this program could be in helping to pull the city schools out of a hole. Put on your thinking caps board members because it’s time to think outside the box for some creative solutions.
For those that aren’t familiar with the program, ArtQuest allows high schoolers to apply to 1 of 8 different art focuses while allowing them to attend Santa Rosa High School to take their other required high school courses. For those who excel in an art specialty and don’t do as well in a traditional large high school setting the ArtQuest program is a blessing. My son’s specialty is video arts and he is there 2 periods every day. The video arts teacher at ArtQuest has his own film studio in Rohnert Park and when he is not in his studio working he is at the school training my son’s class on all aspects of being professional filmmakers. My son is gaining experience in everything from storyboarding, working and controlling the lighting, to dealing with audio and sound, directing, editing, and everything in between. The film program is set up similarly to a CTE program where you are training in high school to be able to work in a film studio if you wanted to straight out of high school.
The teachers at ArtQuest might not yet all be officially CTE certified, however, there was talk earlier this year within Friends of ArtQuest (the not-for-profit organization who supports ArtQuest) about taking steps to have them be. I do hope that ArtQuest chooses to go in that direction regardless of the cuts because a CTE focused art school is a great idea and one that does not exist everywhere. If it weren’t for my son’s 2 period film class at the end of his day he would never be making it through high school. Do not underestimate the necessity of specialized programs like these in a time where high school drop out rates keep rising. Not all kids are University bound and there needs to be another high school option for them to take.
If ArtQuest chooses not to go down the CTE path the board could turn to the local community for help. They could ask local corporations around Sonoma who value or support the arts and art education if any of them want to either invest money in supporting the ArtQuest program or consider taking it farther by taking over the management of ArtQuest so that it no longer falls under Santa Rosa City Schools’ management or financial obligation. The ArtQuest program could give back to it’s investors and the broader community by catering the students’ class projects to serve the community that is helping them. This could look like any of the following: singing/dancing/music performances; private plays or musicals; commercial art projects; photos/ads/film projects. Proper management of the ArtQuest program would be essential and could lead to many projects around the community making our local businesses more connected and invested in the school and broadening the art community all around Santa Rosa and Sonoma county.
There is no doubt in my mind that under the right organization or as a CTE program ArtQuest could do very well. It could still be in the same location, attached to SRHS (or it could be in a new location that allows it to grow). Santa Rosa’s school district could benefit from the program because it would draw in students to the rest of the school. The city would benefit because more people could be drawn into the area. The greater Sonoma area would benefit as it would bring more art into the region. And ArtQuest could continue to grow and thrive.
Supporting the ArtQuest program and making it thrive is a win for everyone! It’s not too late to make that happen.