Arts-based Education Offers a Proven Strategy for Educational Success:

• A quality arts education helps students develop creative and critical thinking, inventive problem solving, effective communication, self-discipline, teamwork, and a respect for diverse cultures – all necessary skills for competing in today’s global economy.

• “There is a direct correlation between improved SAT scores and the length of time spent studying the arts. Those who studied the arts four or more years scored 59 points higher on the verbal and 44 points higher on the math portions of the SAT than students with no coursework or experience in the arts.” Profiles of SAT and Achievement Test Takers, The College Board, 1995.

• Involvement in the arts is linked to higher academic performance, increased standardized test scores, and lower dropout rates in children from all socio-economic backgrounds. Participation in the arts also guides young people toward positive social behaviors and can have a measurable positive impact on students in “high-poverty” and urban settings, according to studies conducted by UCLA, the GE Fund, the MacArthur Foundation and others.

Elm Facts:

• Elm follows the general curriculum guidelines used for all MPS elementary schools, but requires additional instruction in visual arts, music, drama, dance and creative writing.
• Elm is open to every child in the City of Milwaukee and has no entrance requirements, yet Elm students consistently score above the district average on standardized tests.
• Elm has served as a model arts resource school since 1977 and has been recognized nationally and internationally with a variety of awards for excellence.
• Elm’s student body is racially, ethnically, and socio-economically diverse and diversity is celebrated as a strength!
• Elm provides a textbook example of an effective urban education solution. The rate of behavior problems at Elm is very low, while student achievement, enthusiasm and attendance is high.
• All Elm teachers and teaching assistants are required to posses at least 22 credits in the arts in addition to their elementary school teaching requirements.
• Students as young as kindergarten are exposed to the work of classic artists and begin learning how to interpret and appreciate various art forms.
• Starting in K-4 all Elm students have access to Suzuki Violin instruction at school.

What kinds of arts programs are offered?
Visual arts, dance, music, drama, violin and a multitude of opportunities for students to engage in community artistic and cultural events. All students participate in annual or biannual field trips to the Milwaukee Art Museum, First Stage, the Milwaukee Symphony and much more.

Who are the students?
Elm is open to any child in the Milwaukee Public School District. Most students start in K-4 and remain at Elm through 5th grade.  Elm’s stability rate is 90%. Students who start at Elm STAY at Elm.

Elm is one of a handful of schools in Milwaukee that is truly racially and socio-economically diverse.
Our student population this year is:

• 58.6% African American
• 29.1% White
• 5.2% Hispanic
• 2.5% Asian or Native American
• 48% of Elm’s students qualify for free or reduced breakfast and lunch.
• 14.1% of Elm’s student body is comprised of Special Education Students.

Who are the teachers?
Elm teachers are highly qualified professionals who must possess at least 22 credits in the arts.

Why is Elm important to the educational landscape in Milwaukee?

• Elm is a successful school that provides a superb educational choice to Milwaukee families, many of whom do not have easy access to the arts.
• In 2004 the valedictorians at Milwaukee’s two top public high schools, Rufus King and Milwaukee High School of the Arts were Elm alumnae.
• Elm develops in students a lifelong love of the arts and learning.
• Elm develops the arts audiences of the future.
• Elm is one of a small handful of places where students in Milwaukee can learn in a racially and socio-economically diverse setting.
• Elm develops critical thinking, analytical and problem solving skills – crucial skills for success in higher education and the workforce.
• Elm students develop friendships and understanding across social, economic and racial lines and gain the invaluable skill of understanding and working with people from different backgrounds.

Who are Elm’s collaborative partners?
Over the years, Elm has collaborated with countless artists and organizations. Some partners include:

• First Stage Children’s Theater
• The Milwaukee Art Museum
• The Milwaukee Symphony
• Milwaukee Ballet Company
• Ballet Center of Milwaukee
• Danceworks
• Dozens of individual artists
• UPAF
• Golda Meir School for the Gifted and Talented
• ABCs – a collaboration of the 5 arts based schools in Milwaukee, including our next door neighbor Roosevelt Middle School, Lincoln Middle School, Tippecanoe Elementary School, and the Milwaukee High School of the Arts.
• Elm parents and families are the school’s most valuable partners. When Elm holds Parent/Teacher conferences, Open House, or any of our many theatrical events each year, our hallways are filled as more than 1000 parents, grandparents, and students participate on average. Parents volunteer in the classrooms, in the gallery, with theatrical productions, field trips and much more. Dozens of parents hold committee positions on the PTA board.
• The PTA raises nearly $15,000 each year through pizza sales, Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction and other activities to support Elm’s Arts Based Mission and more.
• The Elm Foundation was created in 2003 to provide additional support to the school. It is a fund set up through the MPS Foundation to raise funds that directly support the arts mission of Elm.  In addition to grants from leaders like the Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the Weiss Family Foundation, parents, faculty and other supporters have together generously contributed nearly $200,000 to support the arts at Elm.

What do we need from the community?

Elm has faced repeated cuts in its arts budget over the past three years. Parents, teachers and Elm’s administration have worked together in recent years to develop alternative methods for delivering our programs in partnership with existing arts organizations and other schools.

We need new individual and organizational partners who care passionately about education, the arts and young people in Milwaukee and who are willing to share their time, talent and financial resources to keep Elm a strong model of educational excellence in Milwaukee.