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I read the recent Empire article, "Elementary Art Show Wraps up fourth year," and felt gratitude for the coverage, because as a member of Arts for Kids, the nonprofit that advocates for high-quality art education in the Juneau School District, we work to bring news of art education to the public.

However, I also was surprised to read a small error that maybe some would not catch, but that I felt needed clarification. The article referred to me as an "Arts for Kids teacher," which reminds me that there exists confusion regarding the difference between Arts for Kids and the Juneau Elementary Art program. I think it is important to take this opportunity to clarify the differences between our nonprofit and this school program.

Arts for Kids is a volunteer-based nonprofit run by community members who advocate for equitable art education for all children. We host the annual Community Arts Celebration and provide graduating seniors with art scholarships. We do not teach art. The Juneau Elementary Art program is staffed by district teachers who have art endorsements that qualify them to teach art. This elementary art program is not dependent on volunteers who come and go and it is not funded by grant monies that ebb and flow.

Within the Juneau Elementary Art program, three district art teachers create art lesson kits which they teach to students. Classroom teachers also are present during the art lesson, gaining professional development. Since the program began, 143 art kits have been created.

During the course of each school year, classroom teachers can check out kits so that even when district art teachers are not teaching in a particular school, art lessons can be taught in the classroom. During this school year alone, there will have been 750 kits checked out by classroom teachers. This is great bang for the buck. This economically sound program partners three art teachers with more than 2,000 children and close to 100 classroom teachers and delivers high quality art lessons as well as on-site staff development every year.

Arts for Kids is thrilled with the commitment the Juneau School District has made over the past four years to fully fund and develop this high quality elementary art program that meets the state's core standards.

The district was without an elementary art program for more than 20 years and this program, which the district developed with great consideration to the smallest of details, is an excellent one. This program builds skills, art vocabulary and creativity. Students grow from beginning artists to competent artists in a program that is based upon teaching concepts sequentially as students move up through the grades. Just as teachers wouldn't teach a child multiplication before addition, in the subject of art, for instance, it would be important for a child to have practice drawing a square before adding perspective and drawing a cube.

Most of these lessons provided by the elementary art program integrate art with science, math, reading and writing. The elementary art teachers research grade level curriculum and work deliberately and thoughtfully to develop art kits that are grade level appropriate thus capturing the attention and imagination of students while they are learning academics. The leadership of Arts for Kids is convinced that this well-coordinated art program provides solid art education for all students.

We celebrate all district efforts to sustain this program although the possibility of cuts are currently being considered because the Juneau Elementary Art program is one of the youngest programs in the district and new programs are most vulnerable when money is tight. If a new program were not proving to have a strong effect on students, it would make sense to cut back on resources to fund it. But the Juneau Elementary Art program has been very well received and is providing core-based art education for our students and quality professional development for our teachers. Let's join together to preserve the Juneau School District Elementary Art program and remain committed to the importance of art education in all of our lives.

• Suzanne Malter is an Arts for Kids board member and Juneau resident.