Last week I had the opportunity to attend
the 37th annual Illinois High School Theater Festival on the
campus of Illinois State University. This was an outstanding
event, bringing together more than 4,000 students from across
our state to celebrate the performing arts. The festival
provides students and teachers with a unique opportunity to work
together, learn from each other and see some truly wonderful
performances.
We put so much focus on Math, Science and English Language Arts
and unfortunately sometimes neglect areas that are not tested. I
believe the arts are every bit as important to a student's
education as algebra, biology or composition. As educators we
all know that v aluable lessons are learned and creativity is
fostered through a student's participation in the visual and
performing arts. In some cases, participation in the arts may be
the necessary spark that keeps a student from dropping out.
If you have not had the opportunity to attend the Illinois High
School Theater Festival, I encourage you to consider doing so
next year.
The Illinois State Board of Education is also launching our
Green Ribbon schools award program, joining 32 other states in
the U.S. Department of Education's pilot program. Later this
spring, Illinois will nominate up to three public schools and
one private school for consideration based on excellence in the
three pillars of the program: reduced environmental impact,
improved health and environme ntal literacy.
Applications for nominating Illinois schools can be found on the
Illinois Green Ribbon Schools page at
http://www.isbe.net/green_ribbon. Applications
are due to ISBE by Feb. 12, 2012, and Illinois nominees will be
announced in March. Following the U.S. Department of Education's
announcement of winners in April there will be an award ceremony
in Washington, D.C., in late May. The national ceremony will be
followed by local ceremonies at each of the winning schools in
fall 2012. For more information about the federal Green Ribbon
Schools program, visit
http://www2.ed.gov/programs/green-ribbo n-schools/index.html.
Have a great week!
Chris
