Georgiana Kennedy Simpson: All Utah children should have arts programs in their schools

I am a visual arts teacher, a trader in and collector of Native Nations art, artist, writer, mother and a fierce advocate for what the arts bring to all of our lives, especially our children. I wish to bring your attention to an ongoing funding request in front of the Utah Legislature’s Executive Appropriations Committee concerning the Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program (BTS Arts). Currently, they have a $3.2 million dollar ask in front of the committee, funding which will provide for at least 30 additional BTS Arts teachers across the state of Utah.

I am an educator at Whitehorse High School, a 7th-12th grade public school located in the Navajo Nation. San Juan School District is one of seven districts that do not have a BTS Arts teacher at the elementary level. Working together, we can change this for my district as well as other underserved schools across the state.

BTS Arts currently supports 400 schools, including 99 Title I schools across 34 school districts. Remember, however, there are 835 elementary schools in the state of Utah, so great capacity exists for further expansion across the state. It can also be noted that many of the schools and districts not currently represented are in rural and other underserved areas. Support for BTS Arts can change this for the better.

Every school can benefit from not just keeping the arts alive, but allowing the strengths of arts-integrated learning to spread across all content areas. BTS Arts educators build Portrait of a Graduate competencies such as academic mastery, wellness, civic literacy through community-based art-making, communication, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, innovation, collaboration and teamwork skills.

Arts-integrated project-based learning develops habits of hard work, teaches resilience and sets up a habit of lifelong learning and personal growth through the arts. According to the BTS Arts Program, “Not only do the arts help improve academic learning, they also play a huge role in positively affecting students’ overall wellbeing and personal growth.”

Let me speak further, and personally, to that point. I am a public school art teacher in the Navajo Nation because of a lifelong engagement in the arts. As a third generation Native Nation art trader, I owe success in every aspect of my life to the dedicated efforts of hundreds of artists whose creative skills supported their families, as well as four generations of mine. Their influence taught me patience and perseverance as well as a deep respect for tradition, culture and innovation as translated through an artist’s hands.

In my life, these experiences have translated into advocating for arts-integrated learning through the creation and direction of local summer camps, after-school programs and the founding of an arts festival. It led to the writing and publication of three books on the beauty and authenticity of Native art forms. Civic forms include the facilitating and making of public sculptures, murals and other art forms.

In the end, it led me to a career in education. Many decades of working through the arts and advocating for the best possible circumstances for our children have forged an understanding of the beauty and strength that comes from blending arts learning into all aspects of education.

Here is how we can make a difference! Provided is a link to legislators who serve on the Executive Appropriations Committee. A link to a BTS Arts letter of support can assist in the construction of an appropriate email in favor of this funding. I invite parents, students, and others impacted by the arts, especially BTS Arts educators, to share success stories with our policymakers! Let our senators and representatives know how deeply we care about arts learning for all of Utah’s children.

Georgiana Kennedy Simpson, Bluff, teaches visual arts at Whitehorse High School, Montezuma Creek, and is the fine arts lead for the San Juan School District.