Mission Statement:

The purpose for the fine arts programs of Douglas County is to educate, challenge, and inspire students to create and perform. The fine arts programs are designed to provide students the opportunity to undergo life-altering experiences. Students will move through the stages of artistic development in order to develop an educated awareness of the truth, beauty, and joy of the artistic experience. The pursuit of personal excellence combined with meaningful fine arts curriculum is the essential foundation to prepare students for the future in an ever-changing world.

We believe:

1. Every student should have the opportunity to participate in the fine arts.
2. Certified and qualified fine arts instructors best serve the needs of students.
3. Fine Arts students will learn the aesthetic principles, value, and importance of the fine arts, including how they relate to past, present, and future societies.
4. Fine Arts education provides students strategies to understand, evaluate, and respond to the world in which they live.
5. Arts instruction should be sequenced and continuous to build an ever-growing body of artistic knowledge and skills.
6. Teachers will seek out developmentally appropriate artistic venues that afford students opportunities to challenge and extend their creative and performing skills.
7. Fine Arts students will be challenged to achieve performance standards they had previously thought were beyond their abilities.

Goals of a Quality Fine Arts Program:

1. Quality Personnel
   • Certified in field
   • Proficiency in techniques, skills and methods of particular discipline taught
   • Genuine interest that transcends the classroom
   • Participation in professional organizations
2. Appropriate Materials/Facilities
   
   • Designated materials should be on hand to support curriculum
   • Physical arrangement should be suitable for activities conducted
3. Visible in local and broader community
   • Opportunities should be available for varied performances, exhibits and learning experiences
   • Extended learning and recognition of achievement
4. Work produced shows wide-range of style and genre
5. Balanced scheduling for age appropriate instructional contact time
   • Sufficient and appropriate contact time for skill development
   • Scheduling should promote sequential instruction
6. Constantly evolving/evaluating/improving
   • Provision for appropriate Staff Development and other professional learning opportunities
   • Opportunities for feedback and/or classroom observations from professionals in the field
   • Ongoing self-evaluation
   • Opportunity for collaboration
7. Administrative Support