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"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."
- Henry Ford
The other night, my papillon dog, Teddy, sat in the backyard with his nose pointed windward toward the cool summer breeze which made it the perfect temperature to be outside. This time of year, my dog takes pause in the evening as the sun goes down and lets the breeze clear his racing mind before he comes in and gets his frozen hot dog treat. I like to reflect this time of year as well. There is something about the evenings in Lea County in May which makes it a perfect time for reflection.
When I reflect on the past five years; I envision a bridge. Last November, the fifth grade class at Taylor Elementary built a bridge designed by Leonardo da Vinci for their STEM play. In the movie The Ghost and the Darkness, the bridge builder John Patterson said, “What better job in all the world than build a bridge? “Bring land over water, Bring worlds together.” No question, bridge building is an important job. The question would be - why would the last five years be considered “bridge” years?
First, as a member of Generation X, the notion of a bridge is very familiar because our generation bridges the Baby Boomers with the up and coming Millennials. Our charge is to reconcile the Baby Boomer’s grand legacy of a nation’s course correction in civil rights with the much larger Millennial Generation whose legacy has yet to be written. Although, Howard Fineman of the Huffington Post said it best when he said the Millennials are rebels in their own right because they rebel against the fact that the limits have been reached.
Second, we are nearly ready to complete the bridge between the elementary school and high school in the theater department. The high school theater teacher is coming down and teaching 9th Grade and the Elementary Fine Arts is adding 8th grade to the Middle School Musical. This allows us to have theater opportunities for public school students K-12 for the first time in decades. We are also starting another bridge program with the Rock Band Project which was piloted in 5th Grade at Edison Elementary. Next year, we will begin to bring guitar and rock band instruction to Heizer Middle School in 6th Grade.
Finally, our program has incrementally brought on more quality staff for direct instruction in visual art and music. This direct instruction will help repair the breach between the dark limitations of poverty, ignorance and chaos with unlimited progress, equal opportunity and understanding in the culture of the community.
Although the Elementary Fine Arts Program has made progress in the last five years of bridge building in the district, this is just the beginning. Now is the time for substantial development to begin in comprehensive fine arts educational programming.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools |
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Edison Live! is a special project that includes a Rock Band Class, Classical Guitar Class, I -Movie Class, Hip Hop Dance Class, Ballet Class, Jump Rope Class, Komedy Kids Class, and Art Class. This promotional video was made by the 5th Grade Production Team ('Leven Productions) in the I-Movie Class AKA Eagle Egg TV. The Edison Live! Concert is April 30th, 2013. This event will spotlight all of the work of these groups have done all year.
Check out the 5th Grade I Movie Class Promotional Video for Edison Live
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In growing the Elementary Fine Arts Program the last five years, we have utilized an approach using the two models of development outlined by Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo Corporation. She explains one model as “castle building” which is when a group focuses intensely on a project for a long period of time and presents it to the public when complete. This model we have used in Edison Live! This "castle building" focus has consumed the projects of Rock Band Class, Classical Guitar Class, Hip Hop Dance Class, Ballet Class, Art Class, Jump Rope Class, and Komedy Kids Class for the last year at Edison Elementary. This group is getting ready for the big reveal April 30th 2013.
The other Mayer model for development is “launch early and launch often”. This is where you launch highly innovative projects to groups and get feedback to help you stay on course as you launch further iterations of similar projects. This model we have instituted in our special programming,district wide initiatives, and week residency programs. This is the model of development that has steered the course of the district elementary fine arts program the last five years.
Both development models have their strengths. The “castle building” project at Edison is the most high risk project we have embarked upon in recent memory. However, with high risks come high rewards. Already we are hearing great reviews. We released the promotional video for “Edison Live!”produced by the “Eagle Egg TV” crew which includes our 5th Grade I-Movie Class. Our first review was in Spanish. I do not speak fluent Spanish so I cut and pasted it into Google Translate. The review said:
“Your video is very inspiring. Guys I've worked with through the paint. It seems as Jordi Savall says, that the artist who does not teach, (for inability or vocation, or interest ..) you end up missing something.. No book by didactic, can teach the value of direct experience. Congratulations to all! A big hug…”
According to Mayer, with the castle approach an organization is either successful or has wasted a colossal amount of time depending on the wisdom and foresight of the stakeholders and the events of the day. However, with a review like that, it tells you with all of the ups and downs of program development, we are on the right track.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools |
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Professional Educators from all over the state of New Mexico gathered at the Museum of International Folk Art for their annual Winter Conference to discuss the current topics of the year in arts education.
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Colby Coleman pleads for mercy from the jury during Friday's production of the Big Bad Musical. Middle school students, who were directed by members of the HHS theater class, gave two performances. Click on the picture for highlights.
“Someone's sitting in the shade today
because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
- Warren Buffett
Last Friday, many people came to watch the final production of our most successful elementary/secondary partnership this year. This project started with a conversation including the High School Theater teacher and myself about what a shame it was to not have a middle school theater program. Since neither one of us have a “what a shame” personality, we started organizing this project. It started with the 6th Grade Musical last year and has grown to become a full blown Middle School Musical. The elementary arts fund the Big Bad Musical and the High School Studio Theater Class executes the rehearsals and performance. This partnership has planted a tree for future theater students to find shade under.
Any project of excellence in education has student learning at the center. We want to maximize the time we spend teaching the standards of theater, music and dance. Therefore, we have used the green area of the model below which focuses on higher level thinking. The middle school students are involved in participatory learning and the high school students are involved with actual teaching. When it comes to learning the craft of theater, we are hitting 75%-90% retention for each student.
Thank you for supporting the arts.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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The National Dance Institute's Aly Sanchez was back in town to provide two weeks of instruction to Will Rogers and Edison students. The workshop culminated with a toe-tapping performance at Tydings Auditorium on Friday afternoon.
Click on the picture for highlights.
"In a troubled world, I pray the Lord to keep, keep hatred from the mighty,
and the mighty from the small…"
- Stevie Wonder
The first picture in a young artist’s portfolio is almost always a self-portrait. Likewise, the Mo-Town musicians created their first music about what was going on in their own lives with titles like "I Can't Help Myself". As the decade progressed, these musicians focused on the larger community. Artists like Marvin Gaye turned outward and helped shape the world by asking "What’s goin’ on?"
The previous decade of the 1950’s created a culture built around the car, a nationwide interstate system, and segregation. However, it was the radio in those cars which began to change the culture of America. The 1960’s welcomed leaders like President Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. They gave soaring speeches across the airwaves of black and white television. These speeches established a goal to land on the moon by the end of the decade and asked a segregated people to "… lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood." All the while, it was the radio waves and the music of Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson and Diana Ross that effectively reached across the racial divide. Their music trained the ears of all young Americans to hear our common melody – Motown. John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Motown artists collectively taught us to set goals, right wrongs and "reach out" to each other.
To change a troubled world one must change the culture. It was the Motown greats who helped create the modern America. They are part of the reason segregated schools and separate water fountains are something a student today only finds in a history book about a by-gone age. It was the musicians like Stevie Wonder who lived in a crumbling society of "separate but equal" yet built a soundtrack of tolerance, justice and understanding. It was the music that changed America.
The past two weeks, students of Edison and Will Rogers Elementary learned about Motown and the "Core Four" (Work Hard, Never Give Up, Be Fit and Do Your Best). Their master teachers Alyx and Maki have taught them with excellence.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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The Booker T. Washington Afterschool Program under the direction of Maciolek School of Dance created two performances Friday for their classmates, parents and community at the Booker T. Washington Stage.
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“It's kind of fun to do the impossible.”
- Walt Disney
Dance is a funded mandate in New Mexico in grades K-5 and supported by the Fine Arts Education Act.
Dance is also an integral part of the overall educational experience of an elementary student in the public schools in Hobbs.
We would like to thank community organizations like Maciolek School of Dance who partner with Hobbs Municipal Schools to fulfill these important mandates. Mrs. Karen and Ms. Brittney taught the students the etiquette of being a dancer including how to learn to get in a line and make a circle by teaching the student where he or she is in relation to everyone else.
This master dance team modeled a work ethic that involved hard work, following directions and getting a lollypop at the end of the day after the students gave nothing less than their best. We appreciate the dance professionals at Maciolek School of Dance in their role of sharing the discipline and art of dance to their Kindergarten apprentices every week this October.
We also appreciate the Booker T. Washington Elementary Afterschool Program for their collaboration with a local dance school. Together everyone put together a dance program with excellence and accomplished the impossible.
If you have any questions about the Elementary Fine Arts Program you can e-mail
ledgerwoodt@hobbsschools.net. Thank you for your interest in the arts.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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| August and September 2012 |
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“If you want to go fast, go by yourself…
If you want to go far, go with others.”
― African Proverb
One of the most valuable lessons learned during a student theatrical production is the lesson of working together as part of a larger group. This lesson takes time - two to four hours a night to be exact - and doesn’t include additional hours at home practicing their lines and songs with their parents. This is the hidden discipline behind the craft of the theater. During the week, the students learn an integral part of putting together a play is learning your own lines, playing off the cues from others and relying on your cast mates to know and execute their lines with excellence.
Being in a theater performance gives students the confidence and the ability to speak in public. The student who is able to act out a good story by studying the timing of sentences and emphasizing certain words will be rewarded by an audience after delivering their comedic or dramatic lines. The student learns it is not just the words they speak that count but the way they speak them. And the words a student memorizes from the script only create meaning if those words work in concert with everyone else’s lines on stage. A well-acted play is the final assessment of how well the students did in honing their theatrical craft.
This week was full hard work and dedication on the part of the student actors. It has certainly been time well spent. We hope you enjoy the play this afternoon and congratulations to all the students who have worked hard all week.
If you have any questions about the Elementary Fine Arts Program you can e-mail
ledgerwoodt@hobbsschools.net. Thank you for your interest in the arts.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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A colleague of mine observed it is always amazing when you look at the landscape in New Mexico. Sometimes during a thunderstorm you can see a thunderhead in the distance pouring down rain and lightening even though where you are standing, it could not be clearer with the sun beaming down. In a thought, this is where we are with art education in the nation.
Many states have chose short sighted strategies of cutting art programs in the K-12 schools and now they will have twenty years of rebuilding. The rebuilding happens after they come to the conclusion that the arts are part of a vital overall curriculum and, when used in a master schedule, can actually enhance the efficiency of an overall school day. Teachers can have common planning during art and music time or have interventions during the art and music instruction. While at the same time, the arts provide the student with the basic core knowledge of the world around them before they enter college or the workforce.
Our fine arts program has enjoyed time in the sun because of support from the school district, the public education department and local entities that support the arts. While around us are storm clouds where schools in other states have narrowed the curriculum and as a result experienced a decline in the educational culture and student learning. We are fortunate in Hobbs to have forward thinking and innovative leaders who believe in the education of the whole child. To be good stewards of this support, our program has adopted the philosophy: “The best advocacy is good programming”. The dividends of such support will only be seen a generation from now when tenacious and innovative former students help solve the current and future problems of the 21st Century.
If you have any questions about the Elementary Fine Arts Program you can e-mail ledgerwoodt@hobbsschools.net. Thank you for your interest in the arts.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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An elementary principal told us recently that our elementary art show has come a long way in the last few years. The elementary school hallway displays in the last week of April have grown exponentially.
The school hallways spotlighted the ingenuity of many teachers as well as the creative and well-crafted projects of their students. One school turned their hallways into the state of New Mexico where each hallway represented a different region of New Mexico from the Chihuahuan Desert and Carlsbad Caverns to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival and Roswell Alien Spacecraft Landing. Another school created a hallway that looked like a rainforest complete with sound effects of rain; along with spiders and butterflies hung from the ceiling above and lady bugs and caterpillars crawling on the ground. One school decorated their hallway with different scenes from art history like the pyramids of Egypt, the archways of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance style streets of Florence, Italy. One hall was lined with canvas pictures of the Duomo. Each classroom from all twelve elementary schools had a top student picture which was framed and displayed at the Western Heritage Museum in May this year.
In September there will be an art exhibit of all 89 school districts at the State Fair Grounds in Albuquerque. For Hobbs, this will include seven of our People’s Choice Awards from the museum show plus around fifty more pieces. The art work you see on the wall at the Center for the Arts this summer is part of the State Fair Exhibit that will be in Albuquerque in September. This is quite a selection of art work that represents the best of the best of our district’s elementary art work.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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Well it was quite a week coming back from New York City. I have in the subsequent week benefited from a renewed sense of energy from the city which is the pinnacle of arts and culture in the world. At the National Art Education Conference, I gave a lecture about what Hobbs and New Mexico can teach the country about our approach to fine arts education. We live in a desert which is a very harsh and dangerous place. The desert is also a beautiful place and a place with many resources. Most of those resources are hidden like oil, uranium, natural gas, and water. The desert of New Mexico is a metaphor for the major recession we have been in since 2008. One survives in a desert if one looks for and uses the resources that are available. These resources include community interests and quality staff, and it is vital to use those assets wisely. This was the message we brought to New York City from New Mexico.
Most poignantly is what we learned while in the city. Attending the conference were countless young teachers who were climbing on the walls they were so excited to be there. I guess they did not get the memo on how teachers should be cynical all the time. The conference had record attendance. There was a sense of a ground swell of activity around the country in the area of arts and cultural education. I learned volumes talking to a young teacher who used her IPAD to take pictures of her students art work and journal about it for her grade book. Then I looked around and noticed almost everyone at the conference had an IPAD. The world is becoming more interconnected and changing rapidly. It is the artists and educators which seem to be leading the way in this new world of interconnectivity. It is the artist that imagines things before they happen and pictures solutions before the problem is solved.
The energy of the art teacher and the city itself are one and the same. This was evident as I walked past Central Park Zoo on my way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to view original paintings by Picasso and his contemporaries. Afterwards, I walked over to Broadway to the historic Gershwin Theatre where I watched a performance of “Wicked”. I sat in the balcony and watched a young understudy belt out the notes from songs speaking to being “unlimited” and “defying gravity”. The young art teacher and city are showing us where the society is going - towards more collaborations and systems where the artist and giants of industry work in tandem. Together this synergy creates a place that seems unlimited. This is my fresh memory of the city where arts and culture breathe life and vitality to all those who travel there.
If you have any questions about the Elementary Fine Arts Program you can e-mail ledgerwoodt@hobbsschools.net. Thank you for your interest in the arts.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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College Lane's Trey Teague was a comedic hit as Sheriff Billy Bob when sixth-graders from all over Hobbs performed Shake with a Zombie on Friday. The play , which featured singing and dancing, was directed by members of the HHS Advanced Drama Studio class.
Click on the picture above for more.
View the Slideshow of the Performance
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It sounded like a great idea to have a 6th-grade musical in the middle of winter. That was before we saw the forecast reminding us of La Niña and a snowstorm worthy of Anchorage hit Hobbs. The audition was postponed twice. Parents called school offices to see if school was canceled and if auditions were canceled - but not necessarily in that order.
This first-ever sixth-grade play had a challenging start. However, it taught the students a valuable lesson about an old saying of the theatre: the show must go on. We are not promised a warm summer every day of our life. We will wake up some days and have plenty of snow and ice to choreograph our way through. This is what the arts teach the student. The show must go on. After the snow and ice melt away, you still have to show up. You still have to do your best. You still have to attempt excellence and leave it all on the stage.
The teachers have been very impressed by the maturity and poise of the Theatre Studio Class that cast and directed the play. We thank the music teachers and drama teachers that helped structure the rehearsals to set sixth-grade actors up for success. And most importantly we thank the sixth graders for showing up and doing their best every day. We hope you enjoyed “Shake with a Zombie.” It demonstrated the first major collaboration between the elementary and secondary fine arts departments.
If you have any questions about the Elementary Fine Arts Program you can e-mail ledgerwoodt@hobbsschools.net. Thank you for your interest in the arts.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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“A dream you dream alone is only a dream.
A dream you dream together is reality.”
- John Lennon
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National Dance Institute of New Mexico
at Edison Elementary
November 28th - December 7th
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Congratulations!
Edison Elementary 4th and 5th Grade
on a Great Performance!
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| It is poetic justice that a musical group that sang about a changing world…changed the world. The Beatles taught the American culture to “…take a sad song and make it better” and reminded people how to overcome dark days “…when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on us” and sang the undeniable truth that “…life goes on.”
We live in a post-modern world created from the imagination and music of legends like John, Paul, Ringo and George. Whether you bought their vinyl album of Sergeant Pepper or listen to Blackbird on Coffeehouse XM Radio today, the FAB 4’s words have painted permanent strokes on the collective consciousness of our culture. America, since the European Invasion of the 1960’s, has seen advancements in civil rights and education of students with special needs. In retrospect, the Beatles taught us just how powerful the artist and poet is in our society. They became the voice for everyone and left a lasting legacy.
Even though the last time The Beatles sang together was long before these students were born, it is their collaboration that continues to make its mark on history. And it was this history Alyx and Maki taught their students every day in dance practice… along with a 1000 other things like working on endurance, energy, excellence and how to respectfully say goodbye to Maki in Japanese. Most importantly they taught the students to “come together” “with a little help from their friends” and build a complete performance in front of hundreds of students, parents and fans. All the while, creating something bigger than themselves.
If you have any questions about the Elementary Fine Arts Program you can e-mail ledgerwoodt@hobbsschools.net. Thank you for your interest in the arts.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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“We all march to the beat of a different drum but we are learning to live under the same sun.”
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- Mrs. Heister's 4th Grade Class
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"Oh Fair New Mexico"
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'I don't know,' is a favorite phrase for fourth graders - but that's now what these Jefferson students are saying. They're actually acting out parts during a musical salute Thursday to New Mexico's centennial birthday.
| If we want students to really grasp what they learn about a subject, we should provide opportunities for them to teach that subject to someone else. The fourth grade classes taught their elementary schools across the Hobbs Municipal School district about New Mexico through cultural songs and dance. Every elementary school decked their halls in art work including colorful lizard paintings and papier-mâché Hot Air Balloons. This spotlight of New Mexico was part of the American Education Week celebration.
The week was welcomed by clear turquoise skies which is typical of Lea County during this time of year. The parents and students in attendance experienced a collage of culture representing the different groups in the state. Rhythms from the Navajo focused on the indigenous nations that have called New Mexico home the longest. There was music about how to spell Albuquerque, eating spicy jalapeños and getting your kicks on Route 66. Student narrators moved the musical presentations along by speaking about the symbols, legends and famous faces of the state. They asked the state question – “Red or green?” One audience member answered back “Red!!!” There were tunes about the railroads and oil industries that have established the economy of the state. A whirlwind of student dancing ensued and represented the Hispanic Culture much to the enchantment of their parents. The performing students displayed many elaborate costumes celebrating the colors of the state. This district-wide presentation would not be complete without the state of New Mexico’s official song “Oh, Fair New Mexico”. Some schools also chose local arrangements about the state written by our own music teachers Mary Ann Brown and Cindy Roberts. Most importantly our district observed the initiative of our music teachers in collaboration with their 4th Grade teachers and the 4th Grade classes. There were also a few younger grades that joined in leading the celebration. In typical New Mexico fashion these teachers and students worked tirelessly for the last few months getting ready to teach their schools about New Mexico.
At the end of the day, as the sunset painted itself across the eastern New Mexico sky, we reflect on the lessons learned during the New Mexico Centennial Celebration. This week about New Mexico has taught the students their place in the state’s past, present and future and is summed up best in the words of Mrs. Heister’s classes’ last song: “We all march to the beat of a different drum but we are learning to live under the same sun.”
If you have any questions about the Elementary Fine Arts Program you can e-mail ledgerwoodt@hobbsschools.net. Thank you for your interest in the arts.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help."
- Psalm
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ledgerwoodt@hobbsschools.net. Thank you for your interest in the arts.
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I attended the New Mexico Art Education Association’s Conference in early November this year. We shared some best practices from Hobbs Municipal Schools and we learned some best practices from other school districts like iron sharpening iron. I was also privileged to meet the authors of the Fine Arts Education Act which funds the lion’s share of elementary arts programming throughout the state. They are a husband-and-wife team. They received the Distinguished Honor Award for their work initiating the FAEA from the New Mexico Art Education Association. Both of them tower over a room when they stand to speak. He spoke passionately when he talked about how the arts are important in helping self-esteem, and, in turn, the success of students in school. She acknowledged that there are many battles to be fought for children and was glad that this was a fight they have won.
This husband-and-wife team lives in the mountains alone. They have a rugged existence that weaker people could not endure. They keep to themselves most of the time. However, from time to time, they travel down from the mountains to receive an award from a group of art teachers or to advocate for further funding for the arts in the schools. They came down ten years ago and called New Mexico to action because they saw an educational system with underdeveloped resources for providing arts instruction for the students of this state. With their legislative know-how, they created the Fine Arts Education Act which was a down payment on the future of art, music, theatre arts and dance in education in the state. They have given the students of New Mexico a gift. This is a grand legacy we must honor in Hobbs by continuing to innovate quality programming and expand arts opportunities to more students throughout the district every year.
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If you have any questions about the Elementary Fine Arts Program you can e-mail
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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"Tis distance lends enchantment to the view,
and robes the mountain in its azure hue"
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- Thomas Campbell
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I was driving back from Albuquerque after hanging a New Mexico State Fair art exhibit for Hobbs Municipal Schools. I took the old Route 66, now Interstate 40, back east and turned onto 285 at Clines Corner. My FM radio started breaking up once I passed Vaughn and I had a while to think to myself or listen to AM talk radio. This trip, I chose to think. It was in the evening.
I started seeing the shadows creep long across the range. I could see mountains far in the distance on one side and a meandering train on the other side. With every mile the sky took up more and more of the landscape. The clouds were stunning as the sun was setting. Once I passed Roswell, I started smelling oil, the industry that helped this state through the latest tough financial period when the economic status of the country had really taken a turn for the worst. Finally, I arrived in Hobbs and passed the brand new city limit sign where the city boasts of over 43,000 people. I was home.
What draws people to this area? What enchants them to stay especially in the southeast corner of Lea County? Is it the vistas of 2/3’s sky and 1/3 land, the industry or the people? Is it because it is a great place to have students in school? After all, the state has wisely invested substantially in the arts in the elementary through the Fine Arts Education Act. The community interests like the Maciolek School of Dance have also met the schools with matched intensity. The strength of Lea County is that the community has supported the schools as equal partners not enemies.
This week, I watched Karen Salb work with her talented team of dance teachers like Mika Newey, Janey Roan, Brittney Sisson and observed the students giving their best everyday. The Stone Elementary students did a great job practicing scenes about the cultural influences that have made New Mexico what it is today. The exciting thing about New Mexico is that the students are part of the enchantment. While these 5th Grade students are celebrating an important milestone in the states history, they are beginning the first miles of the next 100 years of statehood. One can only imagine what lies ahead for these students. And so the Road to Enchantment continues…
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If you have any questions about the Elementary Fine Arts Program you can e-mail ledgerwoodt@hobbsschools.net. Thank you for your interest in the arts.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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| "Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky…For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack."
- Rudyard Kipling
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The most valuable lesson a student should learn in school is how to participate and work in a group. This skill will serve them well the rest of their lives. In a theatrical performance, each line is important and together each individual creates something greater.
Periodically, parents come up to me and ask how we are able to fund these fine arts events throughout the year. My answer is the Fine Arts Education Act of New Mexico. Although we rely on the generosity of many community partners, the lion’s share of the funding for elementary arts events comes from this statute commonly known as the Fine Arts Education Act. This educational funding was created by a group of parents in New Mexico who began by wanting art supplies for their students. This group of parents went out and raised $100,000.00 worth of art supplies for the classroom. Later, they went to the state legislature and turned that investment into $26 million a year. This is what the students of New Mexico have benefited from for the past few years. It began as a decision by parents to stop being passive observers, work together and become active in the role of their student’s education. These courageous parents followed the law of the jungle according to Rudyard Kipling.
When students participate in a play they are recipients of those parents due diligence yet they are also following in their footsteps. In a society that revolves mostly around passive observance it is an important choice for a student to match their individual strength with the community’s strength. Hobbs Municipal Schools can be a model for the 21st Century for how a school district can provide opportunities for students to act on a large stage and practice becoming apart of something larger than themselves.
Thank you for supporting the arts
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If you have any questions about the Elementary Fine Arts Program you can e-mail ledgerwoodt@hobbsschools.net. Thank you for your interest in the arts.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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"Chance favors the connected mind."
- Steven Johnson
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| The elementary fine arts program values our partnerships with the schools because the best ideas are not born of isolation but come from synergy and the wisdom of a crowds. This presentation illustrates that concept: http://www.schooltube.com/video/0470879b23748f48889b/WHERE-GOOD-IDEAS-COME-FROM-by-Steven-Johnson Steven Johnson hypothesized the cafés and art salons of Paris in the late 19th Century sparked the golden age of modern art and in turn the modern world. It was a time that saw impressionist painters like Monet and architects like Eiffel. The 19th Century world was changing at a rapid pace and those who did not adapt were left behind. Progress was made at light speeds – why – because brilliant minds, that would have been mildly successful in their own right, met at a Parisian art exhibit and literally changed the world.
Our elementary fine arts program has built many pilot, developing and mature collaborations across the district and community. These relationships are what will make this an exciting year for the fine arts. We hired new staff in the area of music instructional leadership and the visual art teacher project. We are partnering with a plethora of performance events like the Southwest Symphony’s “Tour of Schools” and presentation of “Viva New Mexico”. The Hobbs Hispano Chamber of Commerce will present their annual “A Mariachi Christmas”. The Center for the Arts will continue their after school and summer art classes for your students. The Hobbs Community Players will also continue to work with your students on their summer student musical. These are all community partnerships where we have solid support.
We are taking our partnership with the High School Drama Department to the next level with the 6th Grade Musical Pilot Project. We have arranged student performances in local performance venues like the Hobs Community Playhouse and the NMJC Watson Hall Theatre. We are working with the gifted program and initiating their first year of the “Destination Imagination” competition. We have worked with talent from other areas like Albuquerque, New Mexico; San Diego, California; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Missoula, Montana to organize residencies. We are working with three dance schools in town on different special projects. We are committed to building connections with people who love the arts and love working with kids.
The most important collaboration is with the schools. Any successful project involves a strong relationship with the principals and their staff. The most important collaborations with the schools include the American Education Week with the New Mexico Centennial Theme and the Elementary Art Fair and District Wide Art Show at the Western Heritage Museum.
The Fine Arts Education Act funding is allocated to the school districts each year for innovation and development of arts programming in Kindergarten through 6th Grade. We have had some great years in the elementary fine arts in the past. We hope you have had some well deserved rest and relaxation during these hot summer months and are ready for the best year to date in the fine arts.
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If you have any questions about the Elementary Fine Arts Program you can e-mail ledgerwoodt@hobbsschools.net. Thank you for your interest in the arts.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools
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Professional Educators from all over the state of New Mexico gathered at the Museum of International Folk Art for their annual Winter Conference to discuss the current topics of the year in arts education.
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Edison Live! is a special project that includes a Rock Band Class, Classical Guitar Class, I -Movie Class, Hip Hop Dance Class, Ballet Class, Jump Rope Class, Komedy Kids Class, and Art Class. This promotional video was made by the 5th Grade Production Team ('Leven Productions) in the I-Movie Class AKA Eagle Egg TV. The Edison Live! Concert is April 30th, 2013. This event will spotlight all of the work of these groups have done all year.
Check out the 5th Grade I Movie Class Promotional Video for Edison Live
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In growing the Elementary Fine Arts Program the last five years, we have utilized an approach using the two models of development outlined by Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo Corporation. She explains one model as “castle building” which is when a group focuses intensely on a project for a long period of time and presents it to the public when complete. This model we have used in Edison Live! This "castle building" focus has consumed the projects of Rock Band Class, Classical Guitar Class, Hip Hop Dance Class, Ballet Class, Art Class, Jump Rope Class, and Komedy Kids Class for the last year at Edison Elementary. This group is getting ready for the big reveal April 30th 2013.
The other Mayer model for development is “launch early and launch often”. This is where you launch highly innovative projects to groups and get feedback to help you stay on course as you launch further iterations of similar projects. This model we have instituted in our special programming,district wide initiatives, and week residency programs. This is the model of development that has steered the course of the district elementary fine arts program the last five years.
Both development models have their strengths. The “castle building” project at Edison is the most high risk project we have embarked upon in recent memory. However, with high risks come high rewards. Already we are hearing great reviews. We released the promotional video for “Edison Live!”produced by the “Eagle Egg TV” crew which includes our 5th Grade I-Movie Class. Our first review was in Spanish. I do not speak fluent Spanish so I cut and pasted it into Google Translate. The review said:
“Your video is very inspiring. Guys I've worked with through the paint. It seems as Jordi Savall says, that the artist who does not teach, (for inability or vocation, or interest ..) you end up missing something.. No book by didactic, can teach the value of direct experience. Congratulations to all! A big hug…”
According to Mayer, with the castle approach an organization is either successful or has wasted a colossal amount of time depending on the wisdom and foresight of the stakeholders and the events of the day. However, with a review like that, it tells you with all of the ups and downs of program development, we are on the right track.
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Tyson Ledgerwood
Elementary Fine Arts Coordinator
Hobbs Municipal Schools |
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