Lee County school arts programs give students opportunities to explore visual arts, music, theater, and dance from middle school through graduation. Across the School District of Lee County, these programs are not simply surviving. They are growing.
Before stepping into my current role as assistant director of arts, athletics, and activities, I spent 10 years as a music teacher in this community. I took this job because I saw firsthand the impact the arts can have on students and wanted to help support arts programs at every school.
What arts programs are available in Lee County schools?
Families are sometimes surprised by the range of arts education available in Lee County schools. Our middle and high schools represent the four major arts disciplines: visual arts, music, theater, and dance.
Students can participate in band, choir, orchestra, theater, dance, and visual arts. According to the district, every school has at least one full-time visual arts teacher, and our middle schools have at least three fine and performing arts teachers at each campus.
- Band, choir, and orchestra programs
- Theater and musical theater opportunities
- Dance programs
- Visual arts classes
- Fine and performing arts electives
Each high school develops its own strengths, from theater productions and award-winning visual artists to growing marching bands. Families looking for additional opportunities can also explore performing arts programs for kids in Southwest Florida.
How are Lee County arts students succeeding?
More than 10,000 students across Florida audition each year for the Florida Music Educators Association’s All-State ensembles. According to the district, more than 50 Lee County students earned spots this past year.
Those students represented schools throughout the county, not only arts magnet programs. For the first time, all 21 Lee County middle schools also had a student earn a place in the all-county band.
Other recent highlights include:
- More than 70 schools participating in the River District Art Walk
- The highest High School Musical Theatre Awards participation I have seen in a decade
- 250 students earning Florida’s fine arts seal on their diplomas during the program’s second year
That last number is especially meaningful. It tells me our students are not just trying the arts. They are staying involved in the arts.
Are Lee County school arts programs being protected?
Families who heard about recent district budget adjustments may wonder what they mean for arts education. We have not lost an arts program at a single school.
In fact, the district has added positions, including a second dance and theater teacher at a growing high school, a full-time chorus teacher, and expanded dance and visual arts offerings at campuses that previously lacked them.
Orchestra provides one example of that growth. When I started in this role, about 600 students across our district of nearly 100,000 students participated in orchestra. Today, that number is close to 3,000.
The school board has committed to protecting and expanding arts education. Arts, athletics, and activities help keep students excited to come to school.
Why does arts education matter for students?
The arts build creative and critical thinking skills that students simply do not get elsewhere. I will never say the arts are more important than another subject, but they are just as important.
We celebrate students who go on to Broadway or major in music in college. But our larger mission is also to create the next generation of people who appreciate and support the arts.
We have an all-state trombone player who is also a welding student. We have future doctors, bus drivers, and students headed toward many different careers who can carry an appreciation for the arts throughout their lives.
Parents interested in additional creative opportunities can browse local arts programs for children and arts camps in Southwest Florida.
How can parents encourage their children to try the arts?
My answer is simple: sign your kid up.
When your child is choosing electives, ask them to take an arts class they have never tried. Some of my favorite moments are watching a sixth grader who never imagined taking ballet fall in love with dance or a student who thought the violin was lame discover a lifelong passion.
You can always make a change later, but the benefits of the arts will far outweigh the fear of trying something new.
How does the Lee County community support school arts?
None of this happens without our incredible teachers or our community partners. Organizations such as the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, ArtFest Fort Myers, River District Alliance, Alliance for the Arts, Florida Repertory Theatre, and Gulf Coast Symphony support students and educators.
Their support includes performance spaces, gallery opportunities, professional development, donated instruments, costumes, and supplies.
If your business or organization is looking for a way to invest in this community’s future, supporting arts education is one of the most powerful ways to do it. When we build a culture that appreciates the arts, our theaters stay full, and our galleries stay busy for generations to come.
What is next for arts education in Lee County?
My vision for the next five years is ambitious: double enrollment in our arts programs, build the financial stability to support them no matter what the economy does, and make Lee County a model of arts education in Florida.
We are the largest school district in the state not tied to a major metropolitan area, and I want to show what a growing community can accomplish with the proper support.
With our teachers, families, and community behind us, I have no doubt we will get there.
Parents can start by encouraging their children to explore an arts elective or attend a local performance. Check out the Southwest Florida Family Arts Directory.