Curriculum

CUSA’s Core Arts Curricula

Each student is provided with experiences in the arts that are age-appropriate and have cross-curricular connections to the areas of literacy, math, science, history, motor skills, social interaction and cultural context.

The study “Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development,” funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Arts, states: “Children from high-SES (socio-economic status) families are much more likely than low-SES children to be consistently involved in arts activities or instruction.  Economically disadvantaged students often don’t have the same opportunities to become engaged in the arts.  But, as this study shows, low-SES children who do participate in the arts perform better academically and socially.”

CUSA is the only elementary school in the Chester Upland School District with a full-time music teacher, dance teacher and visual arts teacher on faculty.  Working in tandem with homeroom teachers, the arts teachers tailor lesson plans to supplement and reinforce what the children are learning in their classrooms.

• Music class serves as a vehicle for complex understandings of interrelated parts, providing a framework for enriching musical experiences and encouraging creative and critical thinking in all facets of their lives.  Students attend music classes geared to their grade level, and, twice a week, all students and teachers attend Dr. Alston’s well-loved “Afternoon Sing” program. Most of the songs are written especially for the children by Dr. Alston to playfully introduce foreign language, math concepts and literacy lessons and reinforce positive behaviors, such as courtesy and cooperation.
• Dance classes are conducted in the school’s own dance studio, which is outfitted with a mirrored wall, ballet bars, specialized studio flooring and a sound system.  Dance provides children with an introduction to the concept of exercise and an introduction to body parts and how they move.  Emphasis is placed on developing coordination and reinforcing developmental patterns.  Dance gives the children the chance to “be seen,” to be imaginative and to develop self-confidence, incorporating lessons many educated adults take for granted: how to handle one’s body in the world, how to stand or to allow others appropriate room, how to fit into the culture of mutual space and explore exercise in new, healthy and constructive ways.  Yoga introduces the children to the concepts of body awareness and mind/body health, and it provides them with the skills necessary to self-calm.
• Visual Arts classes help children become attuned to the world around them, sparking and broadening children’s imaginations and fostering their sense of self through artistic expression.  Students learn to view the world as a place filled with possibilities, where they can explore their own vision regardless of ability or socioeconomic status.  Because reading is a visual process, these arts classes are also vital to our students’ development as readers.  CUSA’s visual arts program nurtures and encourages each child’s path to connecting with others and thinking creatively while building a growing sense of self-esteem.

Creativity blossoms when students make the hundreds of conscious and unconscious decisions required in the arts: what colors to use, what size, what mood.  The practice of arts requires self-discipline, self-critique and confidence.  The arts help students become the people they want to be.

CUSA’s Extended School-Day Program

CUSA students are in school more hours of the day than other students in the district.  Students in 2nd grade and beyond participate in a mandatory extended-day program geared toward supplementing and reinforcing the school-day curriculum.  The extended-day program takes place from 3:30 to 5:30 four afternoons per week.  Students receive tutoring and help with homework; engage in learning activities, including math and chess clubs and the school newspaper; and participate in studio arts, dance and music projects.  The program is a hallmark of CUSA and it, too, is made possible by TCF.  The Extended School-Day Program is not offered in any of the other district elementary schools.

Students who were exposed to music-based lessons scored a full 100% higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional manner.

Neurological Research
March 15, 1999