Springfield,
Ill. – The Illinois State Board of Education
is recognizing the importance of arts education in educating
our children by proclaiming March 11-17 as Illinois Arts
Education Week. This 25th annual Illinois Arts Education
Week highlights the importance of the fine arts to our
students and culture with the theme, ‘Shaping the
Future With the Arts’.
“Incorporating the arts into the classroom helps
to shape the future of our students,” said Christopher
Koch, Interim State Superintendent. “Research has
shown the importance of the arts to a student’s
academic and social development.”
Jacob Corning, a 12-year-old sixth-grader at Reagan
Middle School in Dixon was chosen as the winner of a
statewide poster contest celebrating the 2007 Illinois
Arts Education Week. Jacob’s entry included five
cats drawn in ancient Egyptian style. The poster contest
was sponsored by ISBE in coordination with the Illinois
Alliance for Arts Education (IAAE) and the Office of
Governor Blagojevich.
“I drew a huge cat in the center and a smaller
cat on top of the big cat,” said Jacob. “Mrs.
Thompson tells us that composition is similar to setting
the stage for a play and it helps to let the viewer know
more about your artwork.”
You can view his poster
online at http://www.isbe.net/curriculum/Default.htm,
along with more information about Illinois Arts Education
Week.
Jacob will be recognized for his work by Jesse H. Ruiz,
Chairman of the State Board of Education, on Tuesday,
March 13, during the IAAE’s annual Service Recognition
Award ceremony in Chicago. The event is being held at
the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Grand
Ballroom. During the ceremony, Jacob will be presented
with a proclamation from Governor Blagojevich and the
State Board of Education.
Fine Arts is one of the seven learning areas in the
Illinois Learning Standards adopted in 1997 by ISBE.
Fine Arts are a key component of a student’s education
and development. It’s important that students learn
the language of the arts, understand how works of art
are produced, and understand the role of the arts in
civilizations, past and present. The IL Learning Standards
define what all students in Illinois public schools should
know and be able to do as a result of their elementary
and secondary schooling in the content learning areas
of English language arts, mathematics, science, social
science, physical development and health, fine arts and
foreign languages.
The month of March is also celebrated by many national
and state professional education associations as a time
to focus on students’ participation in the arts.
It is a time to recognize the state’s outstanding
young artists and focus on careers in the arts available
to Illinois students, and enhance public support for
this important part of our curriculum. The Illinois Art
Education Association and Illinois Music Education Association
sponsor Youth Art Month and Music in Our Schools Month
in March.
Additional posters can be requested by contacting ISBE’s
Curriculum and Instruction Division at 217-557-7323;
e-mail: arts@isbe.net; mail: 100 North First Street,
Springfield, IL 62777-0001. The back of the poster contains
references to the Illinois Learning Goals and Standards
for the Fine Arts as well as suggested resources, activities
and celebrations.
A complete list of the 2007 Illinois Arts Education
Week’s poster contest winners and honorees is below:
- Winner: Jacob Corning
Deb Thompson, Art Instructor
Dixon Unit School District
#170, Dixon - 2nd place: Song Mi Kim
Jessica Arnold, Art Instructor
McHenry High School
West Campus
McHenry School District #156, McHenry - 3rd place: Karina Martinez
Julie Gervais, Art Instructor
K.D. Waldo Middle School
Aurora East Unit School District
#131, Aurora - Featured School: Anna School District
#37, Anna
Paulette Aronson, Art Instructor - Honorable Mention
winners
