Recently parents of the Harley Avenue Primary School in Elwood, NY received a letter home stating that the kindergarten show has been canceled so that the children could keep working so that they will be "college and career" ready.

Arts education is the key to being a productive member of society. It teaches team building, cooperation, reading and other developmental skills necessary for children to succeed at life. Bulimic learning where information is memorized only to be vomited up in the form of answers on a test sheet does not serve students well and serves their communities even less so.

As education moves more towards an "all that matters is the test" mentality we must collectively realize that the current games being played with our educational system is just that-- games. Administrators receive bonuses and other incentives when students do well on tests even if those exams don't actually prepare those same children for life in the real world. By engaging in this sort of behavior they are sacrificing the future of our children to make an extra dollar they do not deserve.

Please sign this petition and share it with everyone you can if you believe that kindergarteners should be able to perform in a play as part of their curriculum.



Please sign this petition if you believe that arts education leads to better student outcomes and improved opportunities for students to succeed.

Please sign this petition if you believe testing kindergarteners and tying bonuses to student achievement on tests damages education for all students.