As summer draws to a close, teachers across Oregon are readying lesson plans for the start of a new school year. But for school districts in rural parts of the state, budgetary constraints may mean that arts literacy and the benefits it offers students aren’t included in the curriculum. 

Since 2020, the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology on the central Oregon coast has been helping fill that need through a monthly youth arts program. It originally served 500 students at two schools in Tillamook County. Oregon ArtsWatch recently reported on the expansion of the program which is launching this fall with a new name, K-8 Create, to serve more than 5,000 students across 17 schools on the coast, from Astoria to Waldport. Ninety-five percent of the students qualify for free or reduced meals and for many, Sitka’s monthly lessons offer the only art instruction they get at school. Alison Dennis is the executive director of the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. Leeauna Perry is Sitka’s youth program director. They join us to talk about the impact the K-8 Create program is having in rural coastal communities.