CEDAR CITY – Three local elementary schools will host an Arts Awareness Education evening today from 6 to 7 p.m. to raise awareness for the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program and to emphasize what can be done to keep the program running.

The event will be at Iron Springs Elementary.

Iron Springs Elementary, North Elementary and Escalante Valley Elementary have all been taking part in the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program over the past two years. The program focuses on using art in schools to enhance students’ learning in core content areas, such as math and literacy, according to a press release.

Beverley Taylor Sorenson has been instrumental in providing schools across the state with educational art opportunities. She has donated money to help fund programs in elementary schools as well as programs in universities, including Southern Utah University, to provide professional development in the arts for elementary education students.

A bill was passed by the Utah State Legislature last year to fund the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program, which provides art education in 20 districts and 52 schools throughout the state, but because of a budget shortage $2 million was cut from the nearly $16 million originally funded to the program, according to the “Friends of Art Works for Kids” Web site.

This means that art specialists Mona Woolsey, who teaches at North Elementary and Escalate Valley Elementary, and Alisa Peterson, who teaches at Iron Springs Elementary and is also the Iron County School District art coordinator, will lose their positions and “students and teachers will lose the powerful tool of integrated arts learning,” according to a press release.

A grassroots group called “Friends of Art Works for Kids” has started up following the funding cut to fight to restore legislative funding for the program. The group has helped spur the organization of events like Arts Night in schools across the state, with Sorenson speaking at each one.

Arts Night will start at 6 p.m. with a performance by the North Starz Choir from North Elementary. Sorenson, the driving force behind the program, will be the featured speaker at the event. Art from the students of the three schools will be on display in a gallery stroll for attendees to view and a special exhibit of Navajo Weaving from the Utah Arts Council will be on display as well.

Peterson’s art classroom will be open for attendees to visit and watch her digital portfolio, which will “explain how I integrate art with other core subject areas,” Peterson said.

Paula Coash, Iron Springs Elementary PTA president, said she hopes to see a lot of support for Arts Night.

“The display of the community will really show how people feel about the program,” she said.

North Elementary Principal Brent Bonner said he understands that budget cuts need to be made, but he thinks this program is too important to be cut.

“I’ve seen this completely change kids’ lives and I don’t want to see it get lost in the shuffle,” he said.

To help raise awareness of the importance of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program, community members can attend Arts Night and go online to www.artworksforkids.org and join “Friends of Art Works for Kids.”