• Kids don’t just experience art in a classroom; they can experience art in the world around them. – Barbara Tierney

Ogden, Kansas, is a rural community of 1,494 people located near the geographic center of the United States. There is no health service, no public transportation, no public library, community center, senior center or movie theater. But Ogden Elementary School has a strong commitment to arts education. Winner of a Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the school follows a model the essential goal of which is to make all children literate in language, numeracy and the arts. That includes hands-on experiences so that students can become familiar with real works of art and create their own works using an artistic medium.

For several years, the school has used state "at-risk" monies to develop an educational partnership with the Beach Museum of Art at Kansas State University. Every time a new exhibition opens, each class visits the museum for a tour and hands-on activity. Funding from the Kansas Arts Commission has supported artists in residence as well as trips to the museum and other arts organizations. According to Ogden’s principal, it’s hard to measure children’s sense of respect, responsibility and self-discipline, but the results of an arts-centered program are easy to discern. Even the bus drivers compliment her on the children’s behavior now!

When it received a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, Ogden Elementary tried something new: it used a portion of its funds to help support the Young Curators Project for sixth-graders at the local middle school. The rationale: many of the middle-schoolers are graduates of Ogden who will return next year to their elementary school as seventh-grade mentors. In this way, the students’ carefully nurtured relationship with the Beach Museum will be strengthened and they will bring their new skills and knowledge back to Ogden in a new role.

The sixth-graders, mentored by the entire museum staff, created a public exhibition from the Beach Museum’s collection. Tasks included research and label writing, producing a catalogue, fundraising, public relations and programming, such as an opening for parents and friends and other member of the public as part of the Museum’s "Arts Above the Arch" series. As a result, the students received excellent press coverage of the event through local television, radio and newspaper. All of this coverage emphasized the partnership and the students’ gains in achievement and self-esteem.

The museum received support for Young Curators from the Kansas Arts Commission, Intrust Bank, and the Manhattan Broadcasting Company, Inc. Next year, the museum, a member of the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, will partner with another Community Learning Center to focus on curriculum development, teachers’ workshops, artists’ residencies, and after-school and summer programming.