[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 82 (Thursday, May 17, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1083-E1084]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO NILES TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 219 FINE ARTS AND 
                        PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 17, 2007

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, today I rise to congratulate Niles 
Township High School District 219, which is in the Ninth District of 
Illinois, for being named the best fine and performing arts program in 
the United States by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 
District 219 was singled out for its outstanding arts education 
programs on April 17 when it was presented with the 19th annual Kennedy 
Center Alliance for Arts Education Network and National School Boards 
Association Award at the National School Boards Association annual 
conference in San Francisco. Since 1989, only 38 school boards in 23 
States have received this prestigious award, which recognizes 
achievements in arts education, from the Kennedy Center.
  The Niles Township High School District 219 does not take arts 
education for granted. District 219 recognizes that it is fortunate to 
be able to dedicate $2.1 million--or 4.5 percent--to the art programs. 
Students are given the opportunity to take a range of classes and 
instruction and even drive the arts curriculum that is offered.
  With such commitment to the arts by the school, faculty, and 
students, the arts programs continually receive honors and awards from 
noteworthy organizations. For example, Niles North High School, located 
in District 219, has been honored three times with the National Academy 
of Recording Arts and Sciences, NARAS, designation as a Grammy 
Signature School. District 219's theater programs have been invited 
twice by the American High School Theater Festival to perform at the 
Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. And, numerous arts teachers 
have received ``teacher of the year'' honors.
  Madam Speaker, I am so proud of District 219 because it understands 
the importance of bringing the wonders of the arts to a broader 
community, especially to our young adults. Niles Township High School 
District 219 is truly a model for arts education in Illinois and 
nationwide. Once again, I congratulate them on their latest 
achievement.

               [From the Chicago Tribune, Apr. 25, 2007]

One Fine Fine-Arts Program: Schools' Dedication Pays Off in a National 
       Award for Programs and Immeasurable Benefits for Students

                            (By Lisa Black)

       On any given day at Skokie's two public high schools, you 
     might find a student stretching goat skin over a hand-crafted 
     drum, or a math class learning geometric concepts through art 
     mosaics.
       A fashion class could be designing costumes for the 
     schools' elaborate plays and musicals, while others listen to 
     a renowned resident artist.
       At Niles North and Niles West High Schools, the diverse 
     collection of students celebrates the arts with a passion 
     more in keeping with the reverence for football in West 
     Texas.
       At home, more than half the students speak a language other 
     than English--led by Korean, Urdu, Assyrian, Spanish, Tagalog 
     and Russian--yet when it comes to the arts, they share a 
     language.
       Now, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 
     Washington, D.C., has singled out Niles Township High School 
     District 219 and its school board for having the nation's 
     best arts program, calling it ``a model for arts education in 
     Illinois and throughout the country.''
       The Kennedy Center presented the award, along with $10,000, 
     during the National School Boards Association's annual 
     conference in San Francisco last week.
       ``It's an amazing accomplishment,'' said Lori Real, fine-
     arts teacher at Niles North, as her students painted on silk 
     screens. She pointed out handcrafted African instruments, 
     called doumbek drums, that her students also are working on.
       ``The arts provide that hands-on experience our students 
     crave,'' Real said. ``It's that hands-on experience of 
     connecting with yourself. I think we're kind of a 
     disconnected society now.''
       The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a public-
     private partnership that has given out the award for 19 
     years, basing its decision on a school district's quality and 
     breadth of programs, student involvement and parent support, 
     quality of teaching, and partnerships with the community.
       Students filled the gymnasiums at both Skokie campuses 
     Friday, cheering student artists, actors, musicians, dancers 
     and their teachers.
       ``This is the first time I think we had a fine-arts 
     assembly,'' said a delighted school board President Robert 
     Silverman. ``The kids in fine arts were on the gym floor 
     being recognized. I think it made them feel terrific.''
       While athletes may rule the roost at other schools, in 
     District 219, it's the arts students who get the most 
     attention.
       ``It's nice to have a few of my jock friends come to see a 
     production and really be blown away,'' said Clayton Fox, 18, 
     of Skokie, president of the Niles North Thespian Troupe.
       The arts have long been treasured in District 219, but in 
     2004 the school board decided to push the program to a higher 
     level by creating a position of fine-arts director. Before 
     that, the position combined the job of director for the 
     English and Fine Arts Departments, officials said.
       The 4,800-student district pulls from a robust tax base in 
     Skokie, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove and Niles and devotes $2.1 
     million--or about 4.5 percent of its annual instructional 
     budget--to the arts. That's about $442 per student, according 
     to district figures. That compares to arts spending of 2 to 3 
     percent of school budgets statewide, according to a 2005 
     survey of school administrators.
       In 2006 District 219 spent $17,422 per pupil in operating 
     expenses, ranking it third among all districts in statewide. 
     High school districts spent an average $12,365 per pupil, 
     according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
       Within the past two years the District 219 equipped both 
     schools with $250,000 fine-arts resource laboratories, each 
     with 25 computers, keyboards, a teacher workstation and 
     specialized art and music software. Before that, the district 
     completed black box theaters at each school. They are small, 
     unadorned rooms with dark floors and curtained walls that 
     provide an intimate and versatile performing space.
       Some District 219 teachers and students said they felt a 
     bit guilty about the award, because it reminds them of the 
     disparities between their school and the less affluent. Real, 
     who taught in the Chicago Public Schools for 12 years, said 
     District 219 participates in student exchange programs with 
     inner-city schools.
       The Kennedy Center judges noted that the depth of courses 
     allows students to take art classes during all four years of 
     high school and that many programs are student-driven, said 
     Barbara Shepherd, director of the center's national 
     partnerships division.
       On a recent afternoon at Niles North, students in jeans and 
     flip-flops plunked down on band room chairs, lifted their 
     stringed instruments and dove into a Brahms piece. Their no-
     nonsense orchestra director, Pam Hendrix, grabbed a late slip 
     from a new arrival without missing a stroke of her baton.
       The district has just added guitar lessons and digital 
     piano to its music program, ``filling a niche for students 
     who don't fit into traditional band and choir,'' Hendrix said 
     later. ``The kids want to jam.''
       In the same classroom wing, Tim Ortmann led a drama class 
     for students with physical and mental disabilities in the 
     black box theater.
       Ortmann, the school's theater director, led his students 
     through sweeping motions and vocal exercises, prompting 
     giggles when he asked students to say, then sing the phrase, 
     ``Open-Pit barbecue sauce.''
       ``Do I have to come and push your tummy?'' he joked when 
     one student's song came out high-pitched and breathless.
       Niles North and Niles West students present about eight 
     musicals and plays at each campus per year, designing their 
     own

[[Page E1084]]

     costumes and sets. The theater program has twice been invited 
     by the American High School Theatre Festival to perform at 
     the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.
       Students said they are thrilled, but not surprised, that 
     their district won the Kennedy Center award.
       Sari Weintraub, 17, a junior at Niles West who plays oboe, 
     described her school's concerts as a multimedia affair, 
     complete with audiovisual presentations and musicians who 
     move around the auditorium for a ``surround sound'' effect.
       ``He likes to incorporate everything,'' she said of her 
     band director.
       ``It keeps people from getting bored.''
       Fox was one of three students chosen as a member of the 
     Niles North ``director's circle'' this year.
       After being selected through an extensive audition, the 
     circle members produce and perform the first play the 
     following school year. In return, they serve the theater 
     department, completing tasks and mentoring other students, 
     throughout the rest of the year. ``He will push you as far as 
     you can possibly go,'' Fox said. ``He wants you to be the 
     best. And once you get there, no one will give you more 
     respect than he will. It's tough love. He wants to see us 
     succeed.''

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