TETA Board of Directors
President-Elect
If you've been near the water cooler on your campus, near a principal’s office or even within earshot of an administrator in the past few months, you've heard the increasing conversation topic of House Bill (HB) 5 bouncing around from agenda to agenda.
Perhaps this concerns you. Perhaps it confuses you. Perhaps it bores you. Or, perhaps, you've given it a listen – processed it – and carried on with building costumes for your musical and preparing your “special requests” for OAP prior to the December deadline.
While all of us will be affected in some way, shape or form by HB5 and its changes on student education in Texas, there are some very interesting areas of the bill regarding fine arts that are worth a few moments of your consideration as an educator.
Graduation requirements and endorsements would be the two main areas of focus taking place in the legislation. In the HB5 requirements, your students (those who are focused primarily on theatre and those who are also taking it because you are their fine art credit requirement) will be working towards a Foundation High School Program (FHSP) with Endorsements. Within the FHSP, the student will be required to take the following courses in their high school career:
English – 4 credits
Math – 3 credits
Science – 3 credits
Social Studies – 3 credits
Foreign Language (LOTE) – 2 credits
Fine Arts – 1 credit
PE – 1 credit
Electives – 5 credits
AND… the student must choose an endorsement from one of the following:
STEM (Science; Technology; Engineering; Mathematics)
Public Services (Health Science; Education; Law Enforcement; Culinary Arts; Hospitality)
Business and Industry (Information Technology; Database Management; Marketing; Accounting; Finance; Graphic Design; Construction; Welding; Automotive Technology; Agriculture)
Arts and Humanities (Fine Arts; Political Science; World Languages; Cultural Studies; History)
Multidisciplinary Studies (Variety of courses to accumulate endorsement credit)
Your administration has met and will continue to meet, form committees and gather feedback in order to decide which (if not all) courses will be offered to students to meet the requirements needed to earn an endorsement in one of these areas. So, how does HB5 affect your theatre arts students?
Well, first it is designed to allow students to choose courses within their endorsement area that will better steer them in the direction of their envisioned college major or career path. For your theatre students who are passionate about following theatre as a career or college major, this is a critical item. These students (along with any others who are interested in exploring theatre inside of the Arts and Humanities Endorsement) should meet with their counselors and truly begin to lay out their new path to graduation. The Arts and Humanities endorsement requires two (2) endorsement specific electives (additional theatre courses) as well as a fourth math and a fourth science credit. Fine arts administrators are also working alongside leaders in education to discuss the flexibility in these math and science courses.
What can you do to better transition your young thespians and your theatre department into the era of endorsements? First, get in touch with the proper administrator (or fine arts department chair) on your campus to discuss class offerings and graduation sequences within theatre arts. With the increased arts and humanities endorsement need, students will want to take a variety of courses in the arts to gain their credit. Class offerings will naturally vary based on the number of content faculty in the arts on your campus, so it may behoove you to work alongside a college in the counseling department to make sure all of your course offerings are accurate and easy to read for those who will be identifying courses for “down the road”. Second, you can discuss the changes with your students and their parents, especially those who are planning on theatre as their collegiate major or those underclassmen who envision being their niche on your campus in the coming years. Finally, research and make your voice respectfully heard on campus. As districts are dialoging, debating and deciding on the methods they will implement to make appropriate transitions for HB5, they will likely ask for faculty to serve on those committees. Be involved. Not only to have a voice in the arts for your theatre students, but to be actively engaged in the success of the “whole” student on your campus.
Although we certainly want them to be engaged and educated in our great theatre courses, we also want them to become successful, educated and well-rounded citizens in our society. Serving on committees, helping to set those pathways with your campus colleagues and advocating on behalf of your campus visual and performing arts programs will help your students and your program grow as the education landscape evolves in the coming year.
Until next time, have a great holiday season and get ready for TheatreFest 2014!