Although not everyone is the next Picasso, all students should be allowed access to an arts class through their high school.

Park cut a multitude of arts classes for the 2013-2014 school year to make way for other curriculum.  The school no longer has graphic design 1, web page design, and advanced theatre arts among other classes.  Only 12 art elective choices remain. A diminished arts department deprives students from the many benefits of a complete arts education.

Exposure to art in the school curriculum and creative activities is crucial for the development of the right brain. According to the Arts Education Partnership, an arts instruction boosts literacy and math achievement and develops critical thinking skills.

Additionally, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH), the advisory committee to the White House on cultural issues, declared that an arts education will be necessary for those wishing to compete in the global economy since employers seek creative and innovative workers.

Denying students the advantage of an arts education hinders their creativity and innovative thinking skills, and lowers their appeal among the workforce, according to the PCAH.

The National Urban Alliance for Effective Education states that arts education is a way to level the playing field. Arts education enables children from lower-income families to receive exposure to art that children from more affluent families get from visits to museums and art exhibits.

Park should put more of an emphasis on arts education whether by incorporating the arts into core classes, creating new arts classes, or increasing the amount of art-devoted clubs. Students should become more proactive in seeking out an arts education by starting or joining art clubs and classes. However it may be, students should have easy access to a strong arts program through the school in order to benefit the Park community and the students themselves.