Art Making in Schools

When I was in elementary I had an art class once in a while. Schools today have so many demands by the state that art classes have vanished over the years because of the budget cuts. Art making has dropped to the bottom of the list of many schools. Research has shown that art making contributes to the success of students and can potentially help schools improve their low-performance. Unfortunately, many of the students in our communities don’t get the opportunity to take an art class because private art classes tend to be expensive. Some art classes being offered are way out of the means of many New Mexican families. In fact, according to the U.S. Census in 2008 about 25% of New Mexican children lived under the poverty level. This means that many NM students cannot afford to take a private art class. However, there is a local organization called OFFCenter, which provides free art classes to several schools here in Albuquerque. You can help to keep the arts by donating money visit their website for more information. http://www.offcenterarts.org/donate.htm