Throughout history, the Arts have chronicled the life and times of humans. Through paintings, sculpture, architecture, music, dance and the spoken and printed word, the Arts have mirrored the beliefs, aspirations, dreams, fears - the very soul - of humanity. There have been dark ages in the past when natural disasters or social turmoil have smothered artistic expression - but the Arts have survived. They are a portal linking ages past to the present and the present to ages yet to come. They have provided a cohesiveness in the fabric of society and a vehicle for expressing beauty, creativity and emotions.

Through much of civilization's more recent history, schools have been the main providers of education in the Arts. The explosive rate of new developments in science and technology, however, has compelled schools to allocate far more of their limited financial resources to these curriculum areas. Unfortunately, this has left many schools with relatively little funding for even minimal programs in the Arts. Today, if we were to average the amount of annual funding for the arts in all American schools K-12, it would be found to be between 4% and 6%.

Arts and academics, however, are no strangers. They are basic to quality education for all children. They are interconnected and complementary. Ironically, the Arts are still considered to be "frill" or "non-academic" subjects in this country when there are studies which demonstrate that the more training and experience that students receive in the Arts the higher the SAT scores.

FranCenter and the Arts

The Arts have been written into federal law as a core subject with the passage of Goals 2000, Educate America Act (March, 1994). However, school districts continue to develop their own priorities and their priorities often translate into more funding for the 3 R's and technology.

FranCenter is committed to developing partnerships with schools, fostering collaborative efforts for strengthening and improving education in the visual and performing arts.

FranCenter is a leader in helping public and non-public schools (pre-school through high school) develop programs in the Arts. Since 1985 FranCenter has contracted with schools providing professional staff, curriculum, materials and supervision. The Center also produces professionals shows to showcase the Arts and raise funds to support school programs in the Arts.