A is for arts education

Coloring inside the lines, learning the alphabet and developing social skills: These are all things average preschool students will try to accomplish.

The Huntington Beach City School District is trying to broaden the curriculum by integrating arts instruction into its academics.

“The arts are a wonderful catalyst for learning and student engagement,” said Elaine Keeley, the preschool’s new director and current principal of Perry School, one of the sites of the new program.

The district’s new preschool program, Preschool Academy, which officials dubbed a place of “academics through the arts,” is set to start next school year, and the district is eagerly registering the little ones for it. Supt. Roberta DeLuca said the preschool goes beyond developmental instruction into academics. The students will be learning English, math, science and skills in a public school setting, which DeLuca said will help make the transition from preschool to kindergarten easier.

“It’s quite different coming from a private preschool to a big [public] school,” she said. “They will know the staff and procedures, and we’re just really looking at smooth transitions.”

Learning academics through arts can be beneficial, even for students who are not artistically inclined, DeLuca said.

“It doesn’t mean a child has to be artistic to attend,” she said. “It just means we’re going to be teaching math, science and literature through song and dance and that sort of thing.”

The district has begun making community connections with organizations that might be able to provide artists-in-residence, who the district would like to aid in the students’ artistic endeavors. It is looking into the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s educational program as well as the Huntington Beach Art Center.

“It’s a rather unique approach the schools are taking, and we’re all for all the art we can get in schools as early as possible,” said Kate Hoffman, director of the Art Center. “I’m hoping it’s a hugely successful approach.”

Teachers from Perry attended the Performing Arts Center’s Arts Teach Annual Artist Showcase to see if any of the artists would be a good fit for the program. Keeley hopes to have three artist residencies ? in theater, music and dance ? throughout the school year. The school is also looking for arts backgrounds in potential credentialed teachers they plan to hire, she said. Keeley has a bachelor’s degree in theater from UCLA.

DeLuca spearheaded the effort to create an arts preschool for Huntington Beach. DeLuca came to Huntington Beach from the Norwalk-La Mirada School District, which has a similar program sponsored by state and federal grants. DeLuca said that because of the economic status of most families in Huntington Beach, the city does not qualify for these same funds.

The $500-per-month program will be open to 80 to 96 students at two school sites: Hawes and Perry Elementary schools. The schools will each have a morning and afternoon session with teachers and professional artists-in-residence so the students can experience artistic learning through music, movement and visual arts.

The school will be open to all students, but those who live within district lines will be given priority registration.

For more information about the program, or to tour one of the school sites, call Perry School at (714) 962-3348 or the district office at (714) 964-8888.hbi.22-preschool-CPhotoInfo7U1S6EQ120060622j03eyencCHRISTOPHER WAGNER / INDEPENDENT(LA)Dr. Roberta DeLuca, Dr. Elaine Keeley, and Dr. Lynn Bogart (from right) at Perry Elementary School in Huntington Beach.