Elementary students get taste of art at Butler

Staff report

Youngstown

Thanks to a $20,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Butler Institute of American Art has partnered with area schools for a program of learning and fun.

The Good Neighbor Program began in September and will end in May. The Butler was one of 510 museums and libraries to apply for the money, of which 178 received funding. The grant was matched with funds from the Anne K. Christman Foundation.

With budget cuts leading to a reduction in visual- art education programs, area teachers and principals found a need for art outreach programs. The Butler responded to that need with the eight-month program that includes two museum visits by students, and six classroom visits by Butler docent volunteers.

The partnership serves third- and fourth-graders from area schools, and is designed to compliment the schools’ curriculum, meeting academic content standards in technology, fine art and language arts, as adopted by the state board of education.

The program has so far served 439 area students.

Participating Youngs-town schools are: Bunn, Harding, Kirkmere, McGuffey, Martin Luther King, Taft and Williamson. Warren schools in the program are Jefferson and LBrae. Dobbins Elementary in Poland also is participating.