There is a problem on Whidbey Island that mirrors those all over Washington.

Children are not getting enough good art at school.

No matter how many times the experts, statisticians and school administrators show data that proves quality art education is like injecting growth serum into the young brain, there never seems to be enough money or strategy to keep curriculums art-healthy.

When Whidbey Island Arts Council member Frank Rose got the idea to create an arts in education consortium, he decided that young minds were worth fighting for.

After months of working closely with fellow council member Sue Symons gathering information, applying for grants and mustering momentum from the community, the Whidbey Arts in Education Community Consortium was formed with the goal of integrating with frequency more forms of art into the schools.

Though the final goal is eventually to include all island schools, the consortium is limited by its fledgling status and is starting with a focus on new programs for just the South Whidbey and Coupeville school districts.

“This is just a first step,” Rose said. “We’ve got a big problem, and we’re studying what we need to do to fix it. It’s going to take some time.”

But they had to start somewhere.

Members of the consortium and the South Whidbey and Coupeville school districts’ art teachers and general teachers, local artists, business leaders and community members numbering more than 60 met at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts in Langley for a day to focus on the arts, or the lack thereof, in the schools.

Also present at the January meeting were Lisa Jaret, program manager for the Washington State Arts Commission, and Una McAlinden, executive director of Washington Alliance for Arts Education.

The purpose of Focus on the Arts Day was to highlight the role of art in the schools and discuss ways in which current arts programming may be strengthened, expanded and integrated so as not only to meet state requirements, but to satisfy the communities of the island which demonstrate a dedication to art and its valuable effects on the population.

The day began with some opening remarks by facilitator South Whidbey School District Superintendent Fred McCarthy.

Whidbey Island Dance Theater director Susan Campbell Sandri introduced two island dancers, Zane Vanderwood and Jess Barker, who performed a hip hop routine for the group.

After the beat of the music faded, South Whidbey High school principal Robert Prosch quipped that art reflects the very beat of life — who we are as artists, he said, is a spirit that students will carry forward.

Indeed, consortium members hope that the beat goes on with the help of several education consultants.

Sandri is acting as one consultant for the project and is currently surveying teachers. She’s taking a close look at existing curriculum and facilities in order to outline the logistics of adding dance to the present curriculum.

Local teacher Elizabeth Usher Gmerek is also acting as a consultant. She’s hoping to bring the unique combination of her background as both an educator and an experienced visual artist to the integration process at the schools. While Gmerek had been assigned to look at the Coupeville schools, four other consultants are also on the case of how to make these ideas work.

Other interested artists present included Victory Lee Schouten and Faith Wilder of the Brave New Words poetry festival, who were there to represent support for infiltrating poetry into curriculums, a task they said they are willing to take on whenever the consortium calls for their help.

Jaret and McAlinden were somewhat preaching to the choir when they provided an overview of the state of art in Washington schools.

Jaret referred to the arts commission’s Arts Education Research Initiative which provides the data about the state of K-12 arts education in Washington.

Arts are recognized as a core academic subject in Washington, but the level of K-12 arts education is often inadequate, the data shows. They’ve seen improvement before, but many school districts have a long way to go.

Here on South Whidbey, the music program is strong but not immune to cuts, and visual and performing arts curriculum is minimal at best. But they noted that the impetus of support behind the island’s consortium is a good start.

“This is the essence of our work — to spark a community conversation, ignite or reignite local leadership, and catalyze purposeful action towards local goals,” McAlinden said.

“The problems can’t be solved by the state, the Legislature, the school districts or the school boards because they don’t have the money,” Rose said.

“They all have good intentions, but the answer is for the districts to tap into the community to create robust art programs.”

The job of the consortium, as Rose sees it, is to identify areas that are needed and design programs for teachers and students.

The plan is to meet again in one year for a day that would train all general teachers how to integrate these programs into the core curriculum.

“It took Bainbridge Island 10 years to build a solid program,” Rose said.

“We’re at the first step. It’ll take a good two years to establish what we want to do.”

A large part of the day included group discussions on how to train teachers to provide sustainable arts programming in the classroom.

Ultimately, it was concluded that a collaboration between school administrators, teachers, artists and the community must be improved. That means direct actions are necessary, such as creating equitable partnerships between school boards, teachers and the community, surveying teachers to find out what they need to make art integration work, increasing arts credits requirements to two credits in high school and one credit in middle school, curriculum development and positioning an executive director of the consortium to act as a liaison between schools, teachers, communities, organizations and artists.

After a break from the discussion groups, participants were treated to another performance by the Langley Middle School Jazz Band under the direction of Jess Foley, also a participant in the day’s progressions.

The band played “Fat Cat” by Doug Beach, “Mystic Traveler” by Michael Sweeney and “Bein’ Green” by Joe Raposo, arranged by Dave Barduhn. The students played with a finesse beyond their years, and it was a positive reminder to Focus on the Arts Day attendees what comes of a good art program for young people.

Rose is hopeful that the island community has what it takes to make the consortium fly. He also appealed to the economist in everyone.

“These programs benefit arts organizations and the economy of the island. When you start thinking about galleries, artists and studio tours, it all relates to the schools,” he said. “The kids that are trained in art come back to the island. That’s one of the long-term benefits of generating artists — they come back to the community.”

The members of WAECC include the two school districts, South Whidbey PTA, Pacific Northwest Arts School, Whidbey Island Dance Theater, Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, Northwest Language Academy, Brave New Words, Saratoga Print and Paper Foundation, Whidbey Children’s Theater and the Whidbey Island Arts Council. The consortium is also supported by several local businesses, consultants, friends and donors in the community.

For more information about the WAECC, visit the Whidbey Island Arts Council Web site, click here.