Three Richmond schools will be beneficiaries of the Turnaround Arts Program, a national program the provides equitable access to arts education.

Woodville Elementary and Binford and Martin Luther King Jr. middle schools will receive intensive arts education resources to help improve students’ academic and testing performance, Richmond Public Schools officials announced.

The program will begin in the 2017-2018 school year.

The program will include art, dance, theater and music programs, arts integration across multiple subject areas, and incorporation of the use of musical instruments guided by high-profile artist mentors.

Legendary guitarist and musician Dan Zanes of the 1980s band The Del Fuegos will serve as mentor at Woodville Elementary; Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Jason Mraz will work with Binford Middle School; and hip-hop violin-viola duo Kev Marcus and Wil B of the group Black Violin will be mentors at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School.

The mentors’ responsibilities will include providing a motivational morning greeting, guidance in artistic endeavors and special projects. An annual check-in will be held at each school to measure progress.

According to RPS spokeswoman Kenita Bowers, the school system applied for the grant and was selected based on criteria that included demonstrated need and opportunity, strong school leadership with district support and a commitment to arts education. 

Turnaround Arts started as a pilot program in 2012 in eight U.S. public schools. Research concluded the schools showed increases in reading proficiency among students, improvement in math, increases in attendance and decreases in suspensions.

The program since has expanded to 72 schools.

RPS officials did not announce the monetary value of the grant.

Kathy Fletcher, the national program director, said the arts not only develop skills needed for academic success, but also offer a style of teaching and learning that highly engages students and teachers.

“When teachers use the arts to help students understand content, they also give students the opportunity to communicate and collaborate,” she said. “This concept is very simple, and with an infusion of the arts in schools, we see attendance go up, families become more engaged, and in turn, academic scores rise.”

The program, which also receives some private funding, is run by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, a White House advisory committee on cultural issues; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; the U.S. Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Arts. — HOLLY RODRIGUEZ