I read a fascinating article in SRQ Daily where a local arts advocate was quoted as saying, “They’re taking music and arts out of the schools.” I certainly appreciate this individual’s passion for making the arts available in the schools. However, I can proudly say that this is a misinformed statement for Sarasota County. Due to tremendous, long-term partnerships, the arts are alive and well and available to all children in Sarasota County Schools.

We live in an informed and incredibly committed community that realizes the value that a comprehensive arts program brings to a school system. For more than 25 years, the Arts and Cultural Alliance and our member organizations have been supporting arts education through the Arts Education Task Force. We formed a formal partnership with Sarasota County Schools in 1996 called the Community Schools Partnership for the Arts that is available to advise the Superintendent of Schools on all matters concerning the arts in our education system. With the commitment and leadership of our tremendous community foundations, including the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and Gulf Coast Community Foundation and private foundations including The Patterson Foundation and the Barancik Foundation, we have been able to develop programs like EdExplore SRQ, that allows teachers and community members to easily access all of the educational support experiences offered by our area cultural and scientific organizations.

The educational leadership of Sarasota County, including our school board, Superintendent of Schools and all Landings-based and school-based administrators enthusiastically embraces the arts and arts integration as a cornerstone of our curriculum. Sarasota County was selected by the Kennedy Center to participate in their “Any Given Child” initiative that is committed to ensuring the arts are a fundamental component of every child’s education. The Education Foundation of Sarasota County works tirelessly with community partners to develop sources of funding for our teachers and administrators.

We are fortunate to live in a community where the school system, cultural organizations, business organizations and philanthropic organizations realize the power of partnerships to support the development of future generations. With these types of partnerships working to ensure that the arts remain a core component of every child’s education, it is easy to see why Sarasota County Schools are consistently rated as one of the top systems in the State of Florida. Thank you to everyone who contributes to these wonderful partnerships.

Jim Shirley is executive director of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County.