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Performing Arts

Performing Arts Framework

Performing Arts

What We Want
The Ritenour performing arts program, together with families and community, will instill a lifelong appreciation of the arts and encourage the study and production of music and theatre by all. We will educate every student so that he/she can attain the knowledge of all aspects of the performing arts; acquire and develop skills; continue the study, creation, and performance of music and theatre; and appreciate the important role of the performing arts in the life of a well-rounded individual.

What We Know

  • Students of the arts continue to outperform their non-arts peers on the SAT. (College Entrance Examination Board)
  • Research shows correlations between music and theatre and language mechanisms.
  • Participation in a performing arts program provides motivation for and requires disciplined effort toward the achievement of a worthy goal.
  • The arts have a positive impact on children’s social-emotional development.
  • Music and theatre are academic subjects that have all the components of a mathematics or language curriculum.
  • Research has shown that in addition to an enhancement of self-concept as an outcome of music or theatre education, trust and cooperation, empathy, and social skills were also shown to be benefits of a performing arts education.
  • “The arts[..]teach students much more than disciplinary content. They teach lessons that enable students to look at their world with a more complex lens by building critical thinking skills...and they engage students in learning how to play well together, to be team players, to be responsible, and to take risks." (Goldberg, 2008)
  • Research shows that music and theatre involvement provides cognitive and social tools that help students successfully navigate the educational terrain.


What We Believe

  • All students have the ability to create music and theatre; that having a creative outlet helps to develop the whole person; and that each student should become an independent learner.
  • The study of performing arts is an important part of a complete education. It engages students in individual and group activities as well as develops creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, and evaluative skills.
  • All students should have access to a well-balanced, comprehensive, high-quality, sequential program of performing arts, taught by teachers who are certified in performing arts education.
  • Music and theatre are active learning opportunities where students explore the production, performance, appreciation, and evaluation of the performing arts in their many forms.
  • The performing arts allow students to experience other cultures and time periods, as well as contribute to an understanding of the world that they live in.


What We Do

  • Provide a variety of creative performance-based music and theatre opportunities to all students; encourage individual creative exploration. 
  • Differentiate music and theatre instruction to benefit a wide variety of students; such as: students with special needs, students who are gifted and talented, students in grades K to 12, students with varied income levels, and students of varied cultures. 
  • Teach and assess the performing arts elements, vocabulary, and notation.
  • Help students develop the skills and techniques necessary to become independent performing artists.
  • Students listen to, perform, and evaluate music and theatre from a variety of cultures and time periods – both their own and those of others.