ARTSTARS
LACER Afterschool Programs: Literacy,
Arts, Culture, Education, and Recreation

Stephanie Mendez, Melody Pacheco, Maricris Dimaano, and Krystel Bockholt from the Hollywood Stars Musical Theatre Workshop practice a number.

Photo: William Kidston

How can you raise the average standardized reading test score in your school by five points? Give students something compelling to read—a play that they enact, directed by professionals with credentials. Give children the attentive services of tutors and guidance from research librarians who can help young people navigate and use the Internet's unlimited, often free, resources. Inspire young people with the chance to perform their music on stage at a "cool," "hip" venue, such as the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip. These are some of the experiences and activities that LACER has provided to middle-school children since 1995 through its after-school enrichment program, ARTSTARS.

ARTSTARS supports children by providing a five day—a—week, after-school, arts learning program in theater, music, dance, creative writing, and the visual arts. This learning is done in accordance with state educational standards for the arts, drawing upon the core school subjects of English, math, social studies, and science for content. In addition, LACER provides homework assistance, tutoring support, and a comprehensive literacy program developed in partnership with the Los Angeles Public Library. Through intensive tutorials, students receive daily small-group and individual instruction after school at their local library, with the goal of improving their reading, writing, and computer skills.

Through education in the arts, ARTSTARS gives children the chance to see knowledge in action, which encourages a value for and a purpose in learning. Seventy-six percent of the students enrolled in LACER's after-school program say that they enjoy English classes more than they did before enrolling in ARTSTARS. In addition, 84 percent of the participants say that if they were alone in the house with nothing to do, they would work on a music project. Such outcomes support the independent evaluations of ARTSTARS, which find that the program dramatically improves children's attitudes toward school and their ability to set and realize goals for themselves. Says Linda Del Cueto, principal, Joseph LeConte Middle School, "I firmly believe that the strong performing arts and library programs provided by ARTSTARS have been a major influence in the improvement in reading test scores by our students."