Welcome to the creative world of the Arts
At Herrera, ALL students have the opportunity to express themselves daily through participation in one of several arts-focused core content areas: Dance, Drama, Choral Instrumentation, Instrumental Music, Visual Arts, and Physical Education. The arts allow students to express themselves and their understanding of the world in creative ways. The arts help students build connections that deepen learning in all other content areas.
Herrera Arts Mission and Vision:
WE INSPIRE ALL STUDENTS TO CREATE, ACT, PLAY, SING, DANCE AND READ!
- We strive to collaborate through cross-curricular activities in all academic areas to create a multi-talented culture.
- We are a Community of professional artists/educators actively practicing our crafts, providing a well-rounded education for all students.
- We are an inclusive public arts school specializing in dance, visual art, theatre, band, orchestra, choir, physical education and media arts.
- We are Teaching students to participate in and appreciate the arts in order to prepare for high school and participate in the arts community.
Arts in the early grades (K-4) focus on awareness and exposure to different art forms. A few examples of arts in the early grades include:
- Visual art, instrumental music (piano and mallets) are introduced as early as kindergarten
- Instrumental music is introduced and students participate and/or view student performances
- Culturally rich dance, instrumental and vocal music, as well as visual art, are presented throughout the grade levels
Herrera fifth-eighth grade students serve as academic and artistic role models for their fellow students in kindergarten through grade four. Our middle school students begin to identify specific interests in a particular art focus and we provide them the opportunity to explore that focus more in-depth. 5th – 8th grade students have several elective courses to choose from:
- Visual art
- Choral music
- Band, Orchestra
- Dance
- Theatre
- Physical education
Benefits of an Arts Education
The Importance of Arts Education
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPiGHMrngVo
How playing an instrument benefits your brain – Anita Collins
https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-playing-an-instrument-benefits-your-brain-anita-collins
15 Reasons why all children should learn to dance
Benefits to teaching Drama in schools
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-053RD3L8-E
The importance of visual art education
https://cerp.aqa.org.uk/perspectives/importance-art-education
Top 5 Reasons Why Physical Education is As Important As Schoolwork
http://www.educationandbehavior.com/is-physical-education-important-in-schools/
The Arts Educational Partnership indicates that arts in education provide the following benefits for students:
- Students feel successful
- Students realize they can be agents of their own change
- Improved behavior and attendance
- Improved test scores
As defined by the Arts Education Partnership, arts have various benefits for students:
- Drama: Helps with understanding social relationships, complex issues and emotions; improves concentrated thought and story comprehension.
- Music: Improves math achievement and proficiency, reading, and cognitive development; boosts SAT verbal scores and skills for second language learners.
- Dance: Helps with creative thinking, originality, elaboration, and flexibility; improves expressive skills, social tolerance, self-confidence and persistence.
- Visual Arts: Improve content and organization for writing, promote sophisticated reading skills and interpretation of text, reasoning about scientific images and reading readiness.
- Multi-arts (combination of art forms) Help with reading, verbal and math skills; improves the ability to collaborate and higher- order thinking skills.