Ralph Lawson emceed the evening
Daniel Prince
Event was originally scheduled in March 2020 before the pandemic intervened
The Union County School District held its first-ever District Fine Arts Night Thursday night at Union County High School. The event has been three years in the making, as it was scheduled for the end of March 2020 but had to be canceled due to COVID. They planned it again for last year, but again due to a spike in COVID cases, it had to be canceled. A large crowd gathered in the cafeteria to hear performances from the Elementary Honor Choir, made up of students from all the elementary schools; the Sims Middle School Band; the Middle School Honor Choir, comprised of students from Sims and Jonesville Middle Schools; the Jonesville Middle School Band; UCHS GT Music; UCHS Concert Band; and UCHS GT Drama. Drama teacher Ralph Lawson served as emcee for the event, and at the end, he emphasized the importance of arts education, and thanked the Union County School District for the emphasis it places on the arts. Lawson cited a study conducted by The Brookings Institution:
(audio below story)
Lawson said the study showed that arts education led to a reduction in disciplinary infractions, an improvement in standardized writing scores, and an improvement in the students’ compassion toward others.