PITTSBORO — The Chatham Arts Council is planning an expansion of its Artists in Schools program with the aim of helping Chatham County Schools students learn more about arts.
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners approved an additional $20,000 in its yearly contribution to the nonprofit last week as a helping hand.
The Artists in Schools program brings a professional artist or group to schools for a two-to-ten-day period during the school year. Past artists have ranged from playwrights to dance groups to African percussionists, and according to CAC Executive Director Cheryl Chamblee, work on “tying curriculum to his or her art.”
The program was at 10 schools last year and the CAC wants to add three more to cover all of the county’s elementary and K-8 institutions. Most of the schools got full residencies while a few were just able to see performances by the artists. Chamblee said the program reached 3,148 kids and teachers last year and is aiming for 3,909 this coming year.
Chamblee said the program serves not only as an arts education piece but an opportunity for students to get out of their comfort zone and try something new.
“The teachers get to see these kids who don’t like to read and write performing in this beautiful way and carry this out throughout the entire year,” she said. “This is where we can make an early difference that tracks throughout children’s lives. We have the expertise and the experience and the relationships to do it well.”
The CAC does not go to the schools for funding, Chamblee said, because they “do not want to take away from teachers or principals’ time doing what they do best.” But she and Taylor Hobbs, president of the nonprofit’s board, said the funds are worth it.
“It has been widely successful across the county,” Hobbs said, “and we want to continue that success into the future.”
The board unanimously signed on to the expanded funding. Commissioner Karen Howard said her autistic son didn’t speak at school until he had lines in a school play.
“I understood the impact of the arts, but I didn’t understand the profundity of the impact of the arts,” she said. “I think what you’re doing is something that not happens without expertise and knowledge and those critical relationships that you are building within the school and the community.”
Chamblee added that the nonprofit uses the county’s funds — the county had been giving $35,000 a year until this vote — to get other grants and “leveraged” the county’s donation last year into $138,000 more.
“I think this is money well spent, especially since you are able to more than match money from outside sources,” said Commissioner Jim Crawford. “It almost seems like an economic no-brainer to me.”
Board Chairman Mike Dasher said the county is “probably woefully underfunding the arts,” at least compared to surrounding counties, and suggested the board think about more funding “in the coming years as we grow.”
Chamblee said the CAC’s goal is to get to every public school for a residency or performance by 2025.
Reporter Zachary Horner can be reached at zhorner@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @ZachHornerCNR.