Middleburg High Only Local School With No Art Program, Teacher Says
No Comment From School Officials
This past Thursday, the school board held its monthly meeting for July. The July meeting is traditionally the shortest and least attended meeting of the year, but one interesting claim was made during the public comments.
Adam Goodwin, a teacher, stated he was reassigned to a new position after 23 years as an art teacher at Middleburg High School. Per Goodwin, this move has made Middleburg High School the only school in the county without an art program.
Speaking after Goodwin, a parent of a Clay County school student reiterated the call for art to be reinstated at Middleburg High. Donna McCool spoke about her daughter, who has been in art programs for her entire academic career. Art, McCool said, gave her daughter an avenue to express herself, and removing the art program has left a hole in her daughter’s school schedule for next year. You can view the full comments from Goodwin and McCool below.
Neither the superintendent nor board members responded to the comments, so it is unclear what their stance is on the alleged removal of the Middleburg High art program. Board members Michele Hanson and Erin Skipper are known to be vocal supporters of the arts, with Hanson in particular attending most, if not all, of the all-county art events over the past year.
Studies have consistently shown that studying art in school helps students in various ways, including reducing stress and learning to handle constructive criticism. The last time the arts were cut in Clay County schools was in 2009, when the state and local budgets were reeling from the Great Recession.
While we don’t doubt the sincerity of the claims made at the school board meeting, Clay News & Views could not independently verify the status of Middleburg High's art program. Adam Goodwin is still listed as the art teacher on the school’s website.
Clay News & Views contacted the school district to comment on the status of the art program at Middleburg High, but did not receive a reply when this story was published. We will update the story with any details provided by the school district.