To the editor:

When comparing an aging east-side school like Cordley to a west-side school like Quail Run or Langston Hughes, the gap is so enormous that it is surprising that these schools are in the same school district using the same tax dollars.

What would make a school like Cordley attractive to more parents of school-age children? One solution would be to promote a school such as Cordley as an arts school. Although Dave Loewenstein’s mural is on the north side of the exterior of the building, the arts at Cordley are underemphasized. According to recent e-mails from the Cordley school principal, there was only one schoolwide cultural or arts program during the past school year. Speaking as a public school teacher in another school district, I find this program lacking.

At my school, which has a similar socioeconomic demographic as Cordley, there are at least eight schoolwide cultural and arts programs throughout the year. In addition, a yearly budget is allocated for each classroom to have individual workshops.

Literature shows that a strong arts program enhances test scores, which would ease concerns that an arts emphasis would detract from strong reading and math test scores.

Our community is filled with people who are qualified and willing to help. Future bond issues to make schools in Lawrence more equitable may or may not pass, but parents and teachers working together could make an arts school at an east side school, such as Cordley, feasible.

Karen Matheis,

Lawrence