Fame School Losing Its Edge in the Arts?

            Alioune Sow is a passionate trumpet player. But the 17-year-old Sow is no longer able to indulge his love for music as much as heo nce did at his school, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, also known as the Fame School. “I can’t even take three music classes anymore; it was the only class I looked forward to.”

            Not only are Sow’s music classes being cut, but necessary academic classes are also being removed.

With the economy in a rut, New York City Schools are facing budget cuts. These financial problems are cutting into core subjects as well as the specialized arts programs for which the school is known.

According to LaGuardia’s “Back to School,” letter which was sent out to all the students, the school’s funding last year was reduced by $929,091, and funding for the upcoming year has been reduced by an additional $702,554. This is a total decrease of $1,631,645 in the school’s budget over the last two years.

Asa solution, periods 0 and 11 are being eliminated, and each remaining period
will increase from 40 to 45 minutes.

“The issue is how the money is distributed,” said Ana Montano, age 17, also a student at LaGuardia.

However,students are frustrated that a specialized high school known for its extraordinary art courses would eliminate elective art courses.

According to the school letter, art majors are losing their option to take an extra elective while instrumental majors will have fewer music classes from which to choose. Drama, dance, and vocal majors will also have less to look forward to since the school is cutting down on Musicals. In addition, tech majors are left with little work to do because their department receives the least amount of money, according to Nicole Levine, a guidance counselor at the school.

Moreover,academic classes that some colleges require from students are also being cut.For example, physics is being cut for all grades while pre-calculus is only offered to advanced juniors, according to the “Back to School” letter.

Atypical student would take pre-calculus during his or her senior year to prepare for college. Seniors have been preparing for pre-calculus, but it will no longer be available to them. The only available math classes will be advanced-placement(AP) calculus and AP statistics. This gives students a smaller chance of passing the course with a requisite grade. The physics course has been removed and replaced with AP courses.

The reliance on AP courses puts more pressure on students. “It just got harder for me to get a regents diploma,” complains Surfin Percy, age 17, a football and baseball player. “I can’t even hang out after school. I either have practice or I have to babysit my little brothers. How am I supposed to keep up with AP classes?”

Although AP classes technically help prepare students for college, they are also more demanding than normal classes, which may lead to a chain reaction. If students can’t handle the courses, and are forced to take them, they can fail. And if they fail, their chances of being admitted to college may decrease.

The main victims of these budget cuts are the future seniors and freshmen. All students are required to take and pass at least one full year of foreign language. Students once had the opportunity to take a foreign language course until they are qualified to take the regents which is about two or three years of foreign language courses.

Now, freshmen can’t take the class in their first year of high school. “They have to wait until sophomore year,” explains Director Guidance Counselor of the Art Department, Michael Bonventre. “There’s just not money for enough classes.”