May-June-2020-Advisor

FUNDING

MAY-JUNE 2020 CEA ADVISOR 9

CEA AD CAMPAIGN EMPHASIZES NEED FOR SCHOOL FUNDING

Connecticut Teacher of the Year Meghan Hatch-Geary and Paul Geary, both English

education classes have provided a lifeline for many students during a time of distance learning. Unfortunately, these subjects are also some of the first on the chopping block as districts look to cut resources and eliminate teaching positions. In Stamford, where the Board of Finance unanimously voted to cut the education budget by more than $15 million, the superintendent has said that art, PE, and music teaching positions could be cut. In Greenwich, teaching positions as well as music, art, PE, and athletics programs could become casualties of budget cuts. “We are an integral part of students’ academic development, and the relationships that we have with them are really special,” says Ashlyn Gomes, who teaches art at Samuel Huntington Elementary School in Norwich. “Art itself is social- emotional learning. It teaches appropriate self-expression and allows students to build unique relationships with classmates. It teaches and supports 21st century skills, and the creativity that it teaches is something students will When coronavirus closed schools, and homes became de facto classrooms, Connecticut teachers did what they always do: they rose to the occasion to take care of their students, keeping them engaged and learning. Now, another crisis looms on the horizon. Cities and towns across the state are discussing drastic cuts to education budgets that will eliminate critical resources for students and limit teachers’ ability to help them succeed. For our state to recover, our schools must remain high priorities. That is the core message of a new CEA television ad— We Can’t Afford Another Crisis—featuring Connecticut teachers and students engaging in virtual learning. “Throughout this health crisis, our

need in any career they pursue.” “I think our kids are really using the arts as a coping mechanism during this time,” says Theresa Manus-Piccolo, a Shelton High School art teacher and the district’s curriculum leader for visual arts. “I have high school students who have so much difficulty reading or who don’t speak any English. My class is one of the only ones that they’re able to always feel successful in. They’re able to express themselves, and their stress levels are so much lower. It’s so important that these kids have somewhere where they can experience success.” “I work in a Title I school with students who don’t have the same resources as students on the other side of town, or the state, but they can have real success in music,” says Hamden music teacher Elizabeth Caldwell. Art, music, and PE experiences can also be essential to students’ academic success. Research shows that participating in art, music, and PE classes helps students at risk of dropping out stay in school and graduate. High school students enrolled in four years of arts and music classes score 91 points higher on their SATs than students who take a half-year or less. More time in physical education similarly correlates with improved grades and standardized test scores. Caldwell, a general music and chorus teacher at the K-6 Helen Street School, has heard from many students and parents that music assignments are their favorite part of the week. “I have a whole group of kids at my school who turn in their music assignments at 7:00 a.m. every Monday. And they’ll come back and add more videos or comments throughout the week.” Art and music classes also support students’ mental health, while physical education has benefits for both mental and physical health. “Our bodies are meant to move, and PE provides that meaningful movement,” says Hamden Middle School PE teacher Jason Cebula, who creates videos for his students and sees many of them including outdoor activities in their physical teachers have been working harder than ever to keep their students learning in this uncertain world,” says CEA President Jeff Leake. “As we try to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, our students will require more resources, not fewer. Proposed budget cuts will jeopardize their education, their emotional well-being, and their future. This ad campaign is a reminder of the need to support Connecticut’s public schools and provide the resources our students will need when they return to the classroom.” The ad shows three of Connecticut’s public school educators engaged in what tens of thousands of their colleagues have been doing since mid-March: teaching virtually. Featured are 2020

teachers at Woodland Regional High School in Beacon Falls, and Tracey Lafayette, a third-grade teacher at O’Brien STEM Academy in East Hartford. As news headlines broadcast plans for devastating budget cuts in cities and towns throughout the state, the ad asks, “Cutting education, undercutting our children…at a time like this? No way.” Leake urges elected leaders to listen to the public outcry against education cuts. “Do what’s right for our students, our teachers, and our

SUPPORTOURSCHOOLS

schools. Supporting our public schools and dedicated teachers is an investment in our children’s future and in our own future as a state.” The TV ad ends with this message: “Our children, our teachers, and our schools can’t afford another crisis. Support our students, support our teachers, support our public schools.” The ad has aired on Connecticut’s major television networks and news sites. Watch the ad at cea.org .

BUDGET CUTS AND THE HEALING POWER OF ART, MUSIC, PHYSICAL EDUCATION Teachers caution against cuts to well-rounded education Art, music, and physical

fitness logs. “We really have to think of students as a whole. During this pandemic, movement lowers students’ stress levels, allows them to sleep better, and builds strong immune systems.” The power of relationships “What’s really special about art, music, and PE are our relationships with the students,” says Gomes. “We have the rare opportunity to see them every year, K-5, and we see them grow. Those connections keep them coming back to us.” “I’ve been told by students and parents that they look forward to

Hamden Middle School PE teacher Jason Cebula (at left) and his twin brother, Michael, a PE teacher at Hamden High, record a video that encourages their students to invite family members to take part in fitness challenges.

their artwork and are finding it’s a way to come together,” says Manus- Piccolo. “Some are working on assignments with younger siblings, which I’ve suggested they do.” “We’re able to encourage family challenges right now,” adds Cebula. “My students frequently share how they took part in some kind of movement activity or physical exercise with their families.” Limitations of distance learning lead to innovation Students don’t have access to the same equipment and materials at home as they do in school, so teachers are urging them to experiment with what’s at hand. Gomes’s kindergarten students have made paintings using mud and water, her fourth-graders created sculptures from items found around the home, and third-graders used recycled materials to build robots out of geometric shapes. Bridgeport music teacher and 2019 Connecticut Teacher of the Year Sheena Graham, who teaches chorus at Harding High, hasn’t been able to find a program that allows students to sing together from home without some amount of lag, so she’s asked students to send her clips of songs they want to learn so that she can give individual feedback. Composition students were initially unable to continue their work at

home, but Graham has now secured free licenses to Soundtrap so that those students can continue songwriting. She’s also encouraged students to assign her homework, such as listening to a student’s favorite musician. “It’s been a lot of fun—they’re teaching me so much,” Graham says. “I had to sign up for TikTok as an assignment this week.” “We are modifying all of our lessons and using the TAB approach—teaching for artistic behavior,” says Manus-Piccolo. “That means allowing students to choose their supplies and teaching within a topic.” One of her assignments asked students to illustrate an everyday task that has become their “superpower.” “I got a lot of responses from students who were really reflective about themselves and their moods,” she says. Artwork included a drawing student babysitting younger siblings and cousins, and photos of students bagging groceries because they’re still working. “One student is a volunteer firefighter and showcased that,” she says. “I introduce them to the idea of making art according to what is inspiring to you around you.” of a family watching Netflix together, a digital collage of a

Xiomara Santos-Colon, a tenth-grader in one of Theresa Manus-Piccolo’s art classes at Shelton High School, made a digital collage to show how she is an everyday hero.