By: Myiesha Manzoor and Havyn Basconcillo
Throughout the past few years, the art program at James Logan has been shutting down, leaving the program scarce, with unfinished portfolios and stress among James Logan’s student artists. These artists depend on the art programs at Logan to allow them to have a safe outlet for expressing themselves and to increase their opportunities in their education and throughout life. The school cutting down on this program can detrimentally affect the students and teachers who are passionate in the art community.
“Last year, because it was predicted that enrollment was down, we originally had four art teachers, and they let two art teachers go. Because of that, we had to cancel 10 sections of art. We no longer have someone who can teach Painting or Advanced Painting, AP Art, and Foundations in Art,” said Ms. Karamian, the drawing and multicultural art teacher. “It affects me as an art teacher because my class sizes are larger. It’s also demoralizing, it’s our department, but it feels that we’re not heard or we’re not valued.”
She shared her opinion about the disappearance of this program and how it affects her as someone who is so vibrant in the arts community. While expressing sadness for her program, she proposed a solution that many students can attempt to help to bring awareness to solve this issue.
“You should contact the district and the school board and tell them that this program is important to you, tell them how cutting down the program is affecting you as a student.” Ms. Karamian said, working hard on trying to bring her program back to life.
James Logan is also filled with many young aspiring artists that are incredibly passionate about these programs. Artists like junior Sherwin Shahzad and senior Ray Beltran, express their opinions of removing the art programs. “[Lot’s] of people are very passionate about their art…having that space is important and the fact that it’s going away is like taking away people’s dreams.” said Sherwin Shazad , a junior at James Logan. These programs tend to become a safe haven for individuals, allowing their creativity to flow while having the opportunities to find identity through art. “The art programs, they’re pretty important to me, kids need to be able to show their creativity and without art they can’t really do that,” says Ray Beltran, a current senior at James Logan. Ray and Sherwin both display their concerns for the future of Logan’s art programs and the impact it will leave on student’s creativity as it slowly disappears. Sherwin also proposed possible solutions to help save the program, “Definitely support more art. If there are any art related events, then check it out! Also donate supplies to the art room and even join art clubs.” Sherwin suggests that these efforts could help save the program.
Ms. Karamian is not the only teacher who has been negatively impacted by these cutbacks. Ms. Garcia, the ceramics teacher, specifies that she is worried about the students, “Having options for students is really important. And the visual arts are a place where all students thrive. We teach students with special needs. So it’s an open enrollment course for everyone, and this is a class that really has diverse abilities included.” Ms. Garcia is especially concerned about students who are a part of the special education program because many of the arts programs work with those students because they are more inclusive.
Saving the arts program at James Logan is something that the arts community has been pushing for some time; it is essential to recognize the value of creative expression in the James Logan community. The future of our arts program depends on collective efforts to advocate for the protection of the arts. Let’s invest in creativity and ensure that future generations can experience the transformative power of art.
