Youth StARTS
Arts Integration for Elementary Schools
The Youth StARTS Program partners Ross Ragland Theater with traveling artists, classroom teachers, and local school districts to bring performing arts into the traditional K-5 classroom setting. Through this residency program, students experience drama, movement, and music integrated with core curricula, enriching learning and engagement across multiple subjects.
How the Program Works
Artists in residence rotate through schools during the school year in three eight-week blocks, ensuring that each elementary-aged student receives at least one instructive session in drama, movement, and music annually. This collaborative model began as a pilot in rural schools and has grown into a cost-effective public-private partnership and a state-wide model for arts integration.
Benefits of Arts Integration
Arts integration stimulates creativity, supports critical thinking, and reinforces comprehension and retention by engaging students physically and emotionally in learning. Its research-based approach helps deepen understanding of core academic content while fostering connection and confidence in young learners.
Why Arts Education Matters
Arts education plays a critical role in student success, yet access remains uneven across the country.
- Students with high arts participation—especially those from low-income backgrounds—have significantly lower dropout rates than their peers.
- Students who complete four years of arts and music classes score over 150 points higher on average on the SAT than those with limited arts exposure.
- Low-income students who are highly engaged in the arts are twice as likely to graduate college as peers with no arts education.
- Arts education experiences have been shown to reduce disciplinary infractions and increase student engagement.
- While the arts are recognized as a core academic subject under the federal Every Child Succeeds Act, access to quality arts education remains inconsistent nationwide.
- Black and Hispanic students earn significantly fewer arts credits on average than their white peers, highlighting ongoing equity gaps.
Contact and Participation
Educators and community partners interested in bringing Youth StARTS to their classrooms or learning more about scheduling, partnerships, or artist residencies can contact the Education & Outreach team for details. Information on current artists, session schedules, and participation requirements is available upon request.
Meet Our Artists
Aria Sha
Drama Instructor
Aria Sha developed her passion for theater at the age of 7 when she participated in her first play at the Linkville Playhouse. She hopes to inspire that same spark for the stage in others by teaching this year’s after-school improv class. Other than theater, she enjoys being active and creative.
Alex Burris
Dance
Alex has taught in our afterschool programs as well as summer camps and the teen theater program. Now, she is thrilled to be one of our teaching artists as she shares her love and passion for dance. She is starting her second year at KCC. Alex has been a part of the Ragland since she was 6 because her dance shows were held at the theater, until a few years ago. She is currently the Ragland’s unofficial stage manager, and she is loving it. She has recently been getting more and more involved with the education programs such as After School Classes and the Summer Camp programs. She is loving it!
