[ Youth StARTS ]

The artist in residence program is a collaborative effort involving the Ross Ragland Theater, traveling artists, teachers and both school districts in the Basin. The goal of The Youth STARTS Program is to integrate performing arts into the traditional classroom setting. Application of artistic concepts engages students more physically and personally in the learning environment, enriching and improving overall academic performance. Artists instruct in three eight week blocks throughout the schoolyear, grades K-5. Rotating artists and subjects through the schools means that each elementary-aged student in Klamath County Schools will receive at least one session each of drama, movement and music each school year. This collaboration program, which started as a pilot with just four rural schools has proved to be a cost effective, public-private partnership; so much so that it has become a state-wide model!

Benefits of Arts Integration

Children thrive on the study of the arts. The arts open doors to creativity. They nourish critical thinking and innovation. Integrating the arts with other disciplines (core content areas) through instruction and assessment supports the development of these skills and processes.  Arts integration uses teaching practices that have been shown in brain-based research to improve comprehension and long-term retention.  Youth StARTS and Arts integration:

• Instill greater self-confidence and life-long learning skills
• Increase socialization among peers
• Improve overall academic achievement
• Positively correlate to attendance
• Increase classroom engagement
• Give children a more thorough understanding of their bodies and emotions
• Help students to imbed and retain information they learn in all subjects, including those not traditionally associated with the Arts such as math and science.
• Allow kids to integrate new information into their own cultural, social, emotional and intellectual needs, increasing their understanding and ownership of new subjects and skills

[ MEET OUR ARTISTS ]