It is my pleasure to welcome you to the web resources of the Bentonville School District and the Visual & Performing Arts unit! The BSD is tremendously proud of the artistic work undertaken by our students and educators. Our district is committed to providing the very best artistic opportunities for students and, toward that end, supports programs with outstanding facilities, partnerships, and resources. The results are tangible with award-winning programs throughout the visual and performing arts area. I hope that you have the opportunity to enjoy our arts events. From visual art displays to concerts to exhibitions and competitions, our students consistently make the Bentonville School District the place Where Excellence Lives!
Dr. Martin Reynolds
Director of Visual & Performing Arts, Bentonville Schools
Our Mission
The BSD VPA will provide a curriculum that is practical and attractive to students. District arts educators will lead opportunities for the development of creativity, artistry, individual technique, and team-building that will be enhanced with meaningful learning opportunities at the District, region, state, and national level. Direct and hands-on engagement in the artistic process will serve to ignite the passion found in all students.
The heart of the work in the visual and performing arts is not found in competition. However, when competitive opportunities present themselves, the Bentonville Schools VPA seeks to function at the highest level.
Our Vision
The Bentonville School District will lead in promoting the arts by fostering:
critical and creative thought,
artistic endeavors,
effective discourse,
social-emotional learning,
community engagement.
Our District is committed to instilling a life-long passion for the visual and performing arts that moves beyond high school graduation and into a mature and personal experience with the arts. The VPA will be a place Where Excellence Lives.
Our Beliefs
The Bentonville School District VPA believes that the arts are a fundamental force in society. The need to create and express through the arts are innate to the human experience. Further, societies are often adjudicated on creative freedom, critical insight, and the formal and technical innovation of the artwork that it yields. The arts are fundamental, not ornamental.
There is a direct correlation between improved SAT scores and the length of time spent studying the arts. Those who studied the arts four or more years scored 53 points higher on verbal and 39 points higher on math portions of the SAT than students with no course work or experience in the arts.
The College Board
Research has shown that students who participate in music are 52% more likely to go on to college and graduate, and that they have higher levels of self-esteem, discipline, analytical and cognitive skills, and ability to work in a team environment…The creation of art forms requires the use of judgment, perceptivity, ingenuity, and purpose – in a word, intelligence.
Elliot Eisner
Stanford University
Goals & Objectives
To maintain compliance with the Arkansas Department of Education–Division of Elementary & Secondary Education requirements, including administering the Arkansas Fine Arts Academic Standards,
To reach students not normally reached, in ways and methods not normally used,
To explore different and significant ways to learn,
To cultivate both individual and ensemble creative work,
To promote societal understanding and sharing, including participation in an art community free from socio-economic status,
To build connections and relationships with each student, meeting them at their points of need and interest