Tara Welty, editor of Scholastic Art Magazineand Scholastic Instructor Magazine, visited the 
White House this week for the first-ever White House Turnaround Arts Talent Show! She's here to tell you about it. Thanks, Tara!
“We’re going to have a show,” exclaimed First Lady Michelle Obama to a roaring crowd of kids, teachers, artists, and celebrities gathered in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday afternoon for the first-ever White House Talent Show. As one of lucky few reporters in the room, I can tell you Mrs. Obama was downplaying the event we were about to see.
Kids from schools participating in Turnaround Arts, an initiative created by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH) to bring arts education to the country’s lowest-performing schools, took to the stage alongside some famous mentors who have been working with them at their schools for the past two years.
Sarah Jessica Parker and a “girl band” of elementary schoolers from Martin Luther King, Jr. School in Portland, Oregon performed “You’re Never Fully Dressed” from Annie (Fun Fact: Parker starred in the Broadway production of Annie in 1979). Alfre Woodard, Troy Andrews (aka Trombone Shorty) and students from ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy in New Orleans presented a moving original piece about the students’ experiences before and after Hurricane Katrina. And students from Lame Deer Jr. High School in Montana performed with musicians from Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.
The day wasn’t just about entertainment though. In her opening remarks, Mrs. Obama shared some of the successes of the Turnaround Arts program. She said that in the eight pilot schools, “math and reading scores have gone up in these schools, attendance is up, enrollment is up, parent engagement is up, suspensions have plummeted, and two of the schools in our pilot improved so dramatically that they are no longer in turnaround status.” The First Lady announced a major expansion of the program to 35 schools, which will provide more than 10,000 kids with access to quality arts education. But, she cautioned, there are still 6 million children in America “without a single art or music class in their schools.” She urged everyone in the room to take action to bring arts education to more classrooms and children.
The final performance of the day came from a group of dancers from Savoy Elementary School in Washington, D.C. At the close of the performance, Mrs. Obama and the other kid performers joined them on stage for a celebratory song and a mini-dance party. Then a special guest appeared.
President Obama came into the room, igniting screams of delight from the kid performers. After joking, “I’ve got some talent, but I wasn’t invited to be part of the show,” the President emphasized his commitment to arts education. “The arts are central to who we are as a people, and they are central to the success of our kids,” said Mr. Obama. “This is not an afterthought. This is not something you do because it’s kind of nice to do. It is necessary for these young people to succeed that we promote the arts.”
Mrs. Obama took back the microphone to say, “I want all the kids to know just how important you are that the President of the United States came by to tell you how proud he was.”
With that, the event was over. I left feeling energized and excited to get back to work editing Scholastic Art, an art history and contemporary art magazine for students in grades 7-12. I also left with a renewed sense of pride in the work Scholastic does to support the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, a recognition and scholarship program for young artists and writers. But, as Mrs. Obama said, there is much work to do to bring arts education to every child. I hope you’ll join me in trying to achieve this goal.
Now, you MUST watch the event!
