Noted philanthropist and arts supporter Beverley Sorenson visited Red Rock Elementary School in Moab last week, seeking ongoing legislative support for the popular arts in education programs she instituted in schools across the state.

Last month, Friends of Art Works for Kids announced the launch of the organization itself and its web site, www.artworksforkids.org. The statewide grassroots initiative was created to ensure the continued survival of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program in Utah elementary schools.

Currently, the program operates in 53 schools in 20 districts across Utah and serves more than 30,000 students, Sorenson said. Participating schools focus on one of four artistic disciplines: visual arts, music, dance, and theater. Moab’s Red Rock Elementary features local artist Bruce Hucko, who has served as the school’s art coach since 2008 in its highly integrated visual arts program.

Sorenson said she started her Arts Learning Program after seeing a group of kids at an at-risk school succeed after participating in a similarly structured arts-based education program.

“The gang problem [at that school] disappeared,” Sorenson told a group of students, parents, teachers, and other supporters gathered at Red Rock Elementary on the afternoon of Oct. 13. “This program needs to be in schools.”

Added Lisa Cluff, director of Friends of Art Works for Kids, “We know the program works. It helps students with self-esteem and confidence.”

Noting that the program’s state funding is slated to be cut at the end of the 2009-2010 school year, Cluff asked parents and other supporters to write to their state legislators and ask them to continue funding it. “We need parents to write their legislators and let them know how important this program is for their children,” she said.

Red Rock Principal Sherrie Buckingham also voiced her support for the program and invited parents to come in and watch one of Hucko’s art lessons taking place in their students’ classrooms. “You will see these students produce fantastic pieces of art,” she said.

“We’re seeing miracles happen,” said Sorenson before the meeting. “Children are naturally wanting to express themselves, telling stories and being told stories, drawing pictures, and using their imagination. Every child is different. It’s wonderful to bring all those differences together.”

Sorenson said her program focuses on children in grades kindergarten through third, to ensure that the students will already have a solid foundation in arts education by the time they reach middle school.

“At the elementary level, they do things with the whole class,” Sorenson said. “It teaches them how to get along. It becomes fun instead of drudgery.”

According to a news release from Friends of Art Works for Kids, the program “integrates art into the core curriculum, effectively increasing student performance in every subject, from language arts and social studies to math and science.”

For more information about the program or its grassroots support initiative, visit www.artworksforkids.org.