MORENO VALLEY>> On Saturday May 13, 2017, artwork from elementary, middle, and high school student artists were displayed at Moreno Valley Unified School District's (MVUSD) 2nd annual district wide Art Show from 3-5 p.m. at Vista Del Lago High School at 15150 Lasselle St. The display coincided with an award show, which was open to the public.
Common Core standards identify visual and performing arts as one of the necessary requirements to learn and understand in order to progress from each grade level; beginning from kindergarten all the way to senior year of high school. Throughout their time in grades K-12 students have to meet five different standards. These standards are; artistic perception, creative expression, historical and cultural context, aesthetic valuing, and lastly, connections, relationships, and applications. The criteria that needs to meet the completion of these standards is the same throughout each grade and the only changes are through different assignments or changes in the various forms of art that the students are presented and taught during class.
“The arts matter at MVUSD, and we do a wonderful job helping student artists express themselves in a variety of beautiful and captivating ways,” said Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Coordinator Greg Solomon. “The Art Show is a great follow-up to the very popular Honor Bands festival we staged recently.”
With that said, it is not enough to simply teach the arts to students throughout their K-12 years. Schools across California have taken to allowing students the opportunity to participate in activities such as art shows. In the same way students who are passionate about sports are provided the resources to participate on teams in order to hone their skills, students who are interested in the arts are also given resources to hone in their skills.
Events such as the Moreno Valley Unified School District’s district wide Art Show are representative of how school districts can provide room for growth in all aspects of education, especially in subjects that might sometimes go overlooked.
Moreno Valley Unified School District is the third-largest school district in Riverside County and the 23rd largest in California, educating more than 33,000 students in grades K-12 at 40 schools.