School Board of the City of Virginia Beach
Policy 6-43

INSTRUCTION

Arts Programs

1. Art
   
   The School Board believes that the art program is a knowledge-based, comprehensive approach to the study of art through the disciplines of art history, art production, art criticism, and aesthetics. The art program offers opportunities to develop higher levels of creative and critical thinking, problem solving, perceptual and self awareness, and visual literacy. It offers unique, creative experiences which help build self esteem and foster the recognition and the appreciation of differences among individuals and cultures.
   
   The art program integrates concepts, enduring understandings, skills and creative activities that offer opportunities for relating art to other school subjects as well as to the wide range of personal interests and abilities of students. Art education is a significant factor in nurturing an understanding of conscious, human expression in visual form by which each culture records, expresses, and interprets the world.
   
   
   
2. Music
   
   The School Board believes that the instructional program of music education is intended to establish the educational foundation that will provide for the life-long enjoyment of learning for students. The music classroom is an aesthetic forum focused on fully developing the potential for learning and finding satisfaction and meaning through experiencing and performing music. Students will know and understand music as an essential aspect of history and the human experience.
   
   The study of music provides opportunities for self-expression and creative communication. It is designed to increase a students’ ability to perceive, perform, and respond to music with an understanding that provides connections beyond the music classroom. Students will be able to organize musical ideas and sounds creatively and develop the ability to make aesthetic judgments based on established criteria. The study of music stimulates a students’ natural creativity to learn in order to meet the needs of a complex and competitive society. As competence and study in music reinforce one another, the joy of learning becomes real, tangible, powerful and connected to the world of today and the future.

 

Adopted by School Board:  July 13, 1993 (Effective August 14, 1993)
Amended by School Board: June 6, 2006