Art smart: art classes often aren't schools' top priority, yet research suggests perhaps they should be.

• Author: Shelton, Sara
• Position: EDUCATION

On a sunny spring afternoon in northeast Denver, Celesta Cairns' third graders at Cole Arts and Science Academy are working in groups with professional musicians to orchestrate a concert from start to finish. Sixty-three young composers are making sounds from keyboards and drums to "illustrate" the stories they have just written.

"What I like best is getting to work with my friends to make up a story," says Matt, age 9, one of the young composers. "It was fun to make up a story with some friends. Our story was about three sharks called 'Fred's Adventures.' But it was way more interesting when we got to add music to it."

The professional musicians in the Colorado Symphony's Very Young Composers program transcribe the sounds the kids make into real musical notes, and at the end of the school year perform the compositions. The concert attracts parents and children who rarely, if ever, attend musical performances or go to the theater. For many of Matt's classmates, this was the first time they or their families had ever been to a symphony.

Cole Elementary is used to receiving more attention for its failures than for its successes. It has a history of lagging test scores and low attendance rates, for example. It serves a low-income, minority student population--73 percent are Hispanic, 18 percent are African American, and 93 percent qualify for a free or reduced lunch, a federal program based on family income. After a number of leadership and management changes, the school reopened in 2008, and was granted "innovation status" by the state to come up with new, effective ways to meet the needs of its diverse and constantly changing student population. In return, the state granted the school leaders more autonomy. The school launched the Very Young Composers program this year with its third graders. They plan to expand the program next year by adding 25 fourth graders.

A cohesive team of educators at the school teach visual arts, music, physical education and dance, along with the librarian for creative storytelling and a technology teacher for sound engineering. They collaborate daily and discuss the kids and what they are learning. And, they are all certified to teach English language learners.

"We have an incredible team that focuses on culture and creating community, traditions and space for kids to feel safe and creative," says Cairns, a veteran music teacher who was instrumental in getting the young composers program into the school. All students at Cole receive arts instruction daily and are never pulled out of art classes for more reading or math. "The freedom to make decisions at the school level regarding budget, hiring, curriculum and professional development has been extremely useful," she says. "I've made it my focus to ensure the arts get as much attention as math, English and science classes."

The Very Young Composers program is funded by a private foundation and a local philanthropist. The program is thriving in New York City public schools in partnership with the New York Philharmonic...