The MSU Riley Center has partnered with area schools to promote the arts as a teaching tool across all subjects.

    The program, called Artsmart, will include 16 participating schools, referred to as Riley Center Arts in Education Schools. Slated for the 2015-16 school year, Artsmart will feature three workshops designed to train teachers in using the arts as a classroom instructional tool.

    “The arts are wonderful in themselves and provide so much intellectual, emotional and spiritual nourishment,” said Charlotte Tabereaux, education director for the MSU Riley Center. “But they can also be extremely effective in conveying a wide variety of concepts in other disciplines. They can even help address social concerns and problems, such as bullying.”

    Teachers will receive study guides and other resource materials from Washington’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a longtime Riley Center partner. At the end of the school year, the teachers and their schools will be recognized at an awards ceremony as the first Riley Center Artsmart graduates and Riley Center Arts in Education Schools.

    Artsmart’s slogan is “All children deserve the arts; the arts help make our kids smart.” Local educators agree.

    “What you’re able to do through the arts is enjoy your school experience,” Lauderdale County School District Superintendent Randy Hodges said. “You can combine the hard work and effort with an approach to learning that’s fun and exciting that students look forward to.”

    Robin Miles, assistant superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for Meridian Public School District, said she believes the arts make an individual more well-rounded.

    “The arts add so much quality to our lives, on top of the fact that it adds to our ability to reach and teach children,” Miles said. “When you work with integrating the arts, you’re giving kids an opportunity to learn, but then you are giving them skills and tools they can use for a lifetime.”

    Schools participating in Artsmart are: Oakland Heights Elementary School; Poplar Springs Elementary School; T.J. Harris Lower Elementary School; West Hills Elementary School; Carver Middle School; Northwest Middle School; Meridian High School; Northeast Lauderdale Elementary School; Southeast Lauderdale Elementary School; West Lauderdale Elementary School; Clarkdale Middle School; Northeast Lauderdale Middle School; Southeast Lauderdale Middle School; Clarkdale High School; West Lauderdale High School; and St. Patrick Catholic School.