ATLANTA- The Georgia Department of Education is awarding a total of $200,000 to rural school districts to help them expand the fine arts opportunities available to students, the sixth round of such funding, State School Superintendent Richard Woods announced on Oct. 17.

Thirteen rural schools, including Thomas County Middle School and Thomas County Central are receiving stART grants, which can be used to create or expand arts initiatives that significantly improve students’ access to the arts. This is the sixth distribution of funding provided through the grants.

“Fine arts education is a crucial part of a well-rounded education,” Superintendent Woods said. “My administration continues our mission to provide every student in Georgia a high-quality arts education because we understand the academic and non-academic benefits for all students. Music, theatre, art, and dance classes allow students to develop language and fine motor skills, creativity, and ingenuity – all skills that will help them succeed in the modern workforce.”

Through the stART grants, GaDOE is taking advantage of the flexibility offered within the Every Student Succeeds Act to use some federal funds to support arts learning and other programs that provide a well-rounded education to students.

GaDOE continues to expand fine arts instruction through the Fine Arts program at the state level – including enhancing virtual fine arts courses, refreshing standards, increasing the number of creative-industry-aligned high school arts courses, offering professional learning on arts content for arts teachers and arts integration for teachers of all content areas, and more.

All eligible school districts could apply for the stART grant funding. For the purposes of the grant, a rural school district is any district currently eligible for funding under the federal Rural Education Achievement Program.