By Amy Knutson, Education & Programs Assistant
This year, four special education centers in LAUSD began the process of integrating students with special educational needs with neighboring general education elementary schools. Last fall, P.S. ARTS was approached by LAUSD to assist in the integration process of two schools, Grand View Boulevard Elementary, where P.S. ARTS has been providing music and visual arts since 1994, and McBride Special Education Day Center, which is adjacent to Grand View’s campus. This kicked off a flurry of research, professional development, and logistical coordination that ultimately resulted in the spring launch of P.S. ARTS’ first inclusive music and visual arts program. The funding for this program is provided in generous part by the Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation, whose mission is to promote healthy communities by supporting education, health, and cultural programs. Our goal for the inclusion arts classes is to break down boundaries between general education students and students with varying levels of physical and mental disabilities.
As I walked into McBride Special Education Center one Thursday morning to visit the first P.S. ARTS integrated music class, I was struck by the potential impact this project could have, not only at a district level, but more importantly, at the student level. These integrated classes allow students who have never had the experience of working together a safe place to create art and develop life-long skills together.
In the music class, Richard Scher, our Instruction and Curriculum Specialist and Master Teaching Artist, led a group of students through a class based on the Orff-Schulwerk model, which is designed to reach and include ALL students and ALL ability levels. As Richard pulled out a slide whistle, many of the Grand View students began giggling, already knowing what sound would emit from the instrument. I closely watched one McBride student who had never seen a slide whistle before and who, up to this point in class, had made no reactions. As soon as this student heard the cartoon-like sound that the slide whistle emitted, there was a visible reaction; just a slight laugh and a slight raising of the head as she looked at Richard and the instrument, and tracked him with her eyes. I didn’t think too much of it until her aid came up to me after the class and told me that this student, in all her years of working with her, had never shown a reaction like that before. As she left, the aid told me that she couldn’t wait to return with her student to P.S. ARTS’ integrated classes to find more ways to engage her students through music and art. She then walked away with a spring in her step.
It’s moments like these, after prepping for weeks and months on end, through countless e-mails and phone calls, and undergoing hours of training, that make a magic moment; knowing that a student, through art, has been positively affected. And in this case, not just the student, but those around her as well. If our classes can provide hope by allowing ALL children to experience the joy that art offers – regardless of ability, language, or economic barriers – then we’re doing something right.
