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Art academy set to enrich homeschoolers
Published February 25, 2008
LAKE JACKSON — Homeschool students’ lives are about to become more dramatic.
A new program to bring art, theater and other fine arts offerings common in public schools will be available to those who receive their education at home beginning in the fall.
Margaret Baugh, co-director of the Lake Jackson affiliate of the national Masters Academy of Fine Arts, heard of the program through her sister in Alabama who had kids involved, she said. It is a historically based art program for homeschool students that integrates history, music, art and drama.
“I’ve seen the wonders it has done for them and knew we had to get it down here,” Baugh said.
She sent an inquiry to the Atlanta-based program in September, and in two weeks a public informational meeting attended by 15 families was set up, she said.
“I couldn’t believe that many were interested,” Baugh said.
Since the meeting had such a good turnout, the Lake Jackson Masters Academy of Fine Arts was born, with enrollment already started and classes set for this fall. Early registration through May 31 is $95 per child. Regular registration from June 1 to Aug. 31 will be $130 per child.
Located at The Lighthouse Church in downtown Lake Jackson, the program will be available to students of all grade levels, with offerings geared toward specific age groups, said Lori Lane, executive director of the program. Classes will be each Thursday morning for three hours, she said.
“All kids should be exposed to art in one form or the other,” Lane said. “It helps them learn how to think outside the box.”
Music, art and drama will be taught in six different historical time periods — ancient, medieval/
Renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic and modern — to show how art interacted with history, Lane said.
“It is integrated to draw all of the various pieces of art together,” said Audrey Paul, co-director for the Lake Jackson program.
Teachers in each area must have either a background or a degree in the specialty, Lane said.
Rachel Paul, 11, who is homeschooled, said she is very excited about the academy.
“Why? Because I love drama,” Rachel Paul said. “I perform in lots of local plays.”
After each class period, students will have the option of more individual instruction, Lane said.
“This program will be so beneficial,” Paul said. “There have been studies that have shown that being well-rounded in the arts also helps science and math scores because it gets the right and left parts of the brain working together.”
The Masters Academy of Fine Arts began in 1990 in Atlanta, Lane said.
“When it began, they only expected about 20 kids the first week, but instead they had 130,” she said.
The homeschool program has grown to 21 different locations across the nation as well as to Cape Town, South Africa, Lane said. About 2,100 students have been through the program, she said.
If all goes well, Baugh and Paul will be bringing an outgrowth of the Masters Academy to Lake Jackson, called Artios Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, to the area in the fall of 2009, Lane said. It is designed for high school students who want to further their education in a particular area of the fine arts after high school.
“With this program, we help them build their portfolios for college,” Lane said.
For information on the program or to enroll, call (979) 292-9460 or go to www.lakejackson.mafa.net.
Jason Smith covers Lake Jackson for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 237-0150.
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