Turning a negative into a positive isn't always easy, and it doesn't happen overnight, but Rosilee Russell's determination to provide arts education in the River Valley is making lemonade out of lemons in less than two months.
When the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith announced changes to its Academy of the Arts programming, Russell, founder of the Academy of the Arts, knew she couldn't leave the youngsters of the River Valley lacking an arts program. So she and all of the Academy teachers resigned their positions and created a new arts school -- the Community School of the Arts in Fort Smith.
FAQ
Community School of the Arts
WHEN — Fall semester begins Oct. 3
WHERE — St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Fort Smith, 2701 Old Greenwood Road
COST — Tuition rates vary
INFO —424-2020 or csafortsmith.org
"As an educator, I didn't want to lose students, and I didn't want them displaced," Russell says.
"The academy will be integrated with our academic offerings to connect junior high and high school students more directly to our collegiate programs in art, music and theatre. Basically, we are folding academy courses into our academic colleges to make sure that they can feed into collegiate programs so it is more of a pipeline that acts as a recruiting tool," says John Post, director of public information at UAFS. "This is in response to the new [Arkansas Department of Higher Education] funding formula, which will be outcomes-based as opposed to enrollment based and tasks universities with raising graduation rates and the attainment rates of underserved student groups by 10 percent, among other goals."
The new school was announced on Aug. 22. The Community School of the Arts will offer classes in art, chamber strings, children's theater, youth theater and private lessons beginning Oct. 3.. The school also has Drums Alive classes and Musikgarten classes.
The offerings are most of what Russell shepherded at the Academy of the Arts but not all. This fall's theater programs will be scaled back because of the quick turnaround. Russell says to look for full productions to begin again in the spring.
The school's priority is to enhance what's going on in the schools with an outreach program and to help students make a professional career out of the arts, Russell says. The outreach program takes the school's art teachers into elementary schools to give all students a chance to find out what they are good at doing.
The school will be housed at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church on Old Greenwood Road. It's about five minutes from UAFS, she adds, "with great parking and great accessibility."
As a nonprofit organization, the school is governed by a board, which will soon meet to discuss its strategic plan.
Russell says she'd like to see the school "to head in a direction that provides some pretty serious arts programs, potentially longer than just after school." She'd also like to see the school one day have its own facility with both rehearsal and performance space.
"I certainly want this to be something that outlasts my lifetime," she adds.
-- Kelly Barnett
kbarnett@nwadg.com
NAN What's Up on 09/23/2016