Thanks to a new partnership, more than 7,000 Tucson students can go on an arts field trip this school year.Β
Mayor Jonathan Rothschild announced in a Wednesday morning press conference the addition of Act One to his Great Start program. Act One is an Arizona-based nonprofit organization that provides field trips to arts and cultural events for K-12 schools serving low-income children.Β
Last year, Rothschild launched Great Start, which provided more than 2,100 arts and cultural institution passes for distribution in Tucson schools. The passes were used as incentives for children otherwise unable to have such an experience.Β
Act One works similarly, but also covers the cost of transportation to and from the venue and coordinates the field trip.Β
"It's one thing to hand out a ticket," Rothschild said. "It's another thing to get the person to the show. That's a huge step up for our community. This removes the barrier to field trips, especially for Title 1 schools, and it makes art accessible to the entire class, not just a student who improves or excels."
Why it's important
Studies show that at-risk children who are exposed to the arts are "more engaged, have increased attendance and are more likely to graduate from high school," said Geri Wright, executive director of Act One.Β
"We believe that a field trip experience to an arts organization can be a life experience, especially for students in Title 1 schools who may have never left their neighborhoods," Wright said.Β
More than 1,000 students from Tucson Unified School District across 20 schools have been able to connect with the arts because of Act One, said Gabriel Trujillo, the district's superintendent.
"And as we all know, it's the arts that can really have the potential to change the life of the 21st-century learner, because it's the arts that connect both sides of the brain necessary for 21st-century success," Trujillo said.Β
Many students struggle with math and English classes, but they might be great painters or photographers, Rothschild said.
"And if they can get that spur from going to an art museum or going to a symphony, then they'll stay in school," Rothschild said. "That's why this is so important."
Students investigate the displays on a field trip at the Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures.Β
Though the Sunnyside Unified School District prioritizes its budget to make sure students have an arts education, funding has made it difficult to provide opportunities outside of the classroom, said Steve Holmes, Sunnyside superintendent.Β
"As a proud graduate from the Sunnyside district, I was an arts kid. A music guy," Holmes said. "I truly believe it was arts education that was actually that bridge for me to get into college and the university and to where I'm at today. So, I'm a big believer in arts education, not only in the classroom but in the experiences."
Similarly, Jeremy Mikolajczak, CEO of the Tucson Museum of Art, credits his success to a field trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts.
"It's often said there's that one piece of art or one performance that changes a person and for me that was Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry mural at the Detroit Institute of Art,"Β Mikolajczak said. "It changed my course of my life forever. It was the first time I felt empowerment in a piece of art. Without that school trip as a young child, I don't know where I would be today."
How to help
To date, 39 schools have signed up for arts field trips with 15 Tucson arts partners including the Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson Botanical Gardens, MOCA Tucson, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, Arizona Theatre Company and more.Β
The demand for these trips currently exceeds capacity, Rothschild said.Β
But Tucson can help.
"I want to encourage Tucsonans to consider sponsoring a child's field trip to the arts," Rothschild said. "Just $25 can buy them a seat in a house and an experience they may never have otherwise. An experience they'll never forget. An experience that could change their lives ... I'm sure as more Tucsonans hear about this program and support it, we have the infrastructure in place now to get more people to our theaters, to our museums, to our symphonies. Both in the door and transportation to get there."Β
Click here to donate and to learn more about Act One.Β
