Reading, writing and arithmetic are the fundamentals of a good
education, but what about drama or salsa dancing?
Tres Pinos – Reading, writing and arithmetic are the fundamentals of a good education, but what about drama or salsa dancing?
In recent years, media campaigns and numerous studies indicating the benefits of the fine arts in a child’s school day have brought the importance of arts education to the forefront of the American consciousness. However, numerous local schools, many of them rural and serving a handful of students, have a difficult time staying afloat – much less funding music or sculpture programs for their students.
The e3 foundation – as in e “cubed” – was founded at the Tres Pinos School four years ago and is dedicated to the notion that a well-rounded education includes instruction in the fine arts, and that students attending rural schools shouldn’t have to give that up.
“We weren’t happy that Tres Pinos School couldn’t offer our students music or art,” said Sarah McFall, one of e3’s founding members. “So a few parents came together to try and fix that.”
When e3 was initially incorporated in 2002, it was a coalition of four like-minded people who hoped to bring new programs to Tres Pinos that would directly impact their children, and it worked. Funds from the first few years supplied visual arts and drama for all grades, kindergarten through eighth – enough for supplies for the children and the expense of hiring an outside teacher.
“Being able to offer kids something like this gives them one more reason to come to school every day,” said Lou Medeiros, principal of Tres Pinos School. “Some kids get really into athletics, and some just like being here, but for some kids the chance to get up on stage or create something is exactly what they need.”
Today the foundation has five parent board members and one teacher board member. For large fundraising events it can have a volunteer base of around 35 volunteers, made up of parents from rural schools around the county and interested community members.
Over the years as e3 grew, the foundation decided to set up a formal grant application process that would allow rural schools from all over the county to benefit from the non-profit and instigate new programs of their own. Issuing grants in $1,000 blocks, the foundation has afforded music and art programs for Bitterwater-Tully and Jefferson Schools, and Southside School uses e3 funds to help with its physical education program.
Each program can cost anywhere from $1,000 to more than $6,000, depending on the duration of the program and the going rate of the instructor. The school handles the incidental costs associated with offering a new program, but the programs are funded entirely through e3. Though schools have a lot of freedom, most programs are run by an outside artist or expert and students participate in the class once a week.
“e3 is great because it’s so accessible,” said Tim Williams, principal of Bitterwater-Tully School. “They’re always available to help in any way they can. It’s a real user-friendly program.”
The e3 foundation funds smaller programs as well. Students have been sent to science camp and the Museum of Modern Art in San Jose, and e3 even sponsored a BMX show designed to encourage students to stay off drugs.
“The different programs we fund are especially great for children because it’s all ‘hands on’ learning,” McFall said. “When the students are put in a new situation, they might be a little hesitant, but after a few tries they can’t wait to jump in and get started.”
The majority of e3’s money is raised through a trail-riding event held semi-annually in rural south county – this year, the ride is scheduled for April 29. The invitation-only dinner raises upwards of $50,000 through ticket sales and a silent auction, which means e3 can contribute substantially to schools with small operating budgets – Tres Pinos, which has the largest budget of the rural schools, runs on approximately $750,000 a year. Smaller fundraisers in the form of bake sales and a particularly successful sale of greeting cards designed by students in art class also contribute, and help students become involved in the fundraising process.
“A lot of the fundraising is centered around the kids, and the art classes really lend themselves to all sorts of neat fundraising ideas,” McFall said.
Perhaps the best measure of e3’s success, however, is the students’ enthusiasm for the programs it provides. In a kindergarten and first grade drama class at Tres Pinos School, students cheered when they realized it was Thursday and that drama lessons were about to begin.
“The Fine Arts are great for creativity and imagination,” said Kristy Burchard, who teaches drama for Tres Pinos and Sacred Heart schools. “Kids don’t play make believe like they used to… they’re learning focus, they’re gaining self-esteem and they don’t even know it, because they learn it all through games.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
ds****@fr***********.com
