Streetside Stories in San Francisco

Tonight I went to a "Tell It Like It Is" introductory presentation given by the wonderful staff at Streetside Stories in San Francisco, California.

Wow, this team has it together! Their presentation was engaging, very well-organized, and informative. I had the sense that the six storytelling programs they run must be equally excellent.

So, what did I learn? Some interesting statistics, for starters. For example, in the city of Oakland, California, just across the bay from the city of San Francisco - a span of just a few miles, Streetside reports that the high school graduation rate is about 50%. I was shocked. The most affluent country in the world, in one of the most advanced and affluent regions in this affluent country, and the graduation rate is only 50%? Wow.

"What is the major reason why students drop out of school?", the director of Streetside asked those of us in attendance. I tossed out the guess that maybe it is because kids come from broken families. Others in tonight's audience suggested that maybe kids drop out as a result of drugs or violence in their community. Well, according to Streetside, studies show that the main reason kids stop going to school is because they are not engaged, they do not connect at school.

When I think about the times as a child that I did not want to go to school, I can understand how not feeling connected could lead to a child opting out of school. In my case, on the few occasions that I did not want to go to school, my parents made me go, so I went.

How ironic though, to think that while some kids here in the United States are given the gift of education and choose not to accept it, other kids in developing countries dream of the opportunity to attend school and go through much hardship to make education a reality. Why is this?

Another interesting thing I learned tonight is that although many studies reveal the importance of an arts education, one of the unintended consequences of the "No Child Left Behind (NCLB)" law has been a slow stripping of art, or anything else that "smacks of extracurricular", from the school day. This is ironic, since statistics on arts education demonstrate that the arts can help to solve many aspects of the underachievement that NCLB seeks to address.

For example, young people who participate in the arts for at least three hours on three days each week through at least one full year are:

• 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement
• 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools
• 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair
• 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance
• 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem
• 4 times more likely to perform community service compared to their peers

In addition, from a vocational preparation standpoint, studies show that an arts education:

• builds a school climate of high expectation, discipline, and academic rigor that attracts businesses relocating to the community.
• strengthens problem-solving and critical thinking skills
• helps students develop a sense of craftsmanship, quality task performance, and goal-setting—skills needed to succeed in business.
• can help troubled youth, providing an alternative to destructive behavior
• provides another opportunity for parental, community, and business involvement with schools.
• helps all students develop more appreciation and understanding of the world around them.
• helps students develop a positive work ethic and pride in a job well done.
  (Business Circle for Arts Education in Oklahoma, "Arts at the Core of Learning 1999 Initiative")

Thankfully, local arts organizations such as Streetside Stories are providing arts education to youth in our community schools. Through the power of storytelling, Streetside Stories provides an outlet for young people's voices to be heard. Their programs foster educational equity, provide an avenue for self-expression, and build community, literacy, and art skills. And it is these critical thinking, literacy, writing, and technology skills that can be leveraged as marketable job skills when students in the program graduate and search for employment or launch their own endeavors in the business world.

What a great program!