SOFA

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) recently announced they will have to cut up to 165 positions (including teachers) as a result of a significant funding shortfall.   To read the announcement, check out the front page of the May 5^th edition of the Calgary Herald.  You can also read the article on the Calgary Herald’s website  by CLICKING HERE.

SOFA has learned this could mean the reduction of up to 4 teachers per school.  In addition, this could have a negative impact on the CBE’s ability to provide funding for a number of locally developed courses, including a number of fine arts programs.

It is clear the Alberta Government’s cutback in education funding will affect every school district in the Province. Without substantial increases in funding, we could lose a number of fine arts programs across Alberta.  Further, students currently in the school system will not be equipped with the necessary skills (creativity, critical thinking, communication, innovation, etc.) to compete in an ever changing world.  For more information on this, please read previous posts regarding Dr. Stephen Murgatroyd on our website.

Now is the time for every parent, parent to be, student, teacher, and concerned citizen to stand up, be counted, and make a difference:

• Please read and sign the PETITION at:  http://www.gopetition.com/online/35101.html.
• Please ask ALL your family members, neighbours, friends, co-workers, and anyone else you know to individually sign the petition as well.  There is no age restriction to sign.
• Please send an email note to your Premier, Minister of Education, and School Board Officials/Trustees expressing your concern about education funding cutbacks.  For a listing of contact information please check out our SOFA website by CLICKING HERE.
• For those of you in Calgary, you can write to your Calgary Board of Education Trustee by checking out the following website:  http://www.cbe.ab.ca/trustees/trustees.asp
• Please register on our SOFA website by clicking on the red registration button on the top right hand side of our home page.

There comes a time for each of us to stand up and support what we believe in.  If you believe in the value of education, in particular fine arts education – NOW IS THE TIME.

Please check back to our website regularly for future updates.

According to a report by CBC News, “… music lessons can help children as young as four show advanced brain development and improve their memory, even when it sounds like a budding musician is banging out little more than noise, a new Canadian study suggests …. music training could lead to improvements in literacy, verbal memory, visiospatial processing, mathematics and IQ.”

If you are interested in reading the full report, CLICK HERE.

On March 2nd, 2010, the Edmonton Journal published an article written by Darren Fung (Freelance Journalist) where he discusses the proposed changes to fine arts education in Alberta and possible impact.   

In his article, he writes, “… It’s obvious that not every drama student will win an Oscar, not every music student will play at Carnegie Hall. What is obvious is that by giving students the necessary tools to learn and practice art, you help them attain skills that will allow them to be successful in life.”

If you are interested in reading the full article, CLICK HERE

In 2009, CBS television in the U.S. did a feature report on the benefits of signing in a choir.   According to the broadcast, if you take up singing, you will do better in school and “…you’re taking an increasingly popular path to a successful life.” 

Across the United States, “…more than 1 in 5 households have at least one singing family member, making choral singing the most popular form of participation in the performing arts for both adults and children.” 

Spend a few minutes and watch this powerful broadcast.  It will uplift your spirits and get you even more fired up to support fine arts education (singing in particular) in schools.

The 4 minute video can be viewed by CLICKING HERE

Check out Theatre Alberta’s website for an article on the proposed fine arts changes by Alberta Learning. 

You can access it by CLICKING HERE

The Cochrane Times recently featured a news article raising the issue of the proposed curriculum changes.

The article can be HERE

It is great to see that the media is still gettig involved!

On December 28th, 2009, the Calgary Herald ran an article on proposed education funding cuts by the Alberta Government.

To view the article written by Sarah McInnis, Education Reporter, CLICK HERE

Alberta Primetime recently did a feature report regarding changes to the fine arts curriculum.  During the broadcast, Christine Bouchard (Team Lead) from Alberta Education and Lyle Bennett (Save Our Fine Arts Committee Co-chair) were interviewed.

To view the broadcast, CLICK HERE

The Coalition for Music Education in Canada is dedicated to ensuring all Canadian children have access to music education. They work with parents, educators and government officials to ensure every child has an opportunity to receive music education. 

On December 3rd, they published an article on their website outlining their concerns over the proposed changes to music education in Alberta.  To read it on their website, CLICK HERE

It would appear the proposed changes in fine arts education in Alberta have caught the attention of an Ontario newspaper.   The Windsor Star recently published an article entitled, “Calgary students fight proposed cuts to fine arts in Alberta schools.”

To read the article, CLICK HERE