About
The 2017 Transforming Learning Through The Arts Conference is a program of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Access Program and the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Endowed Program for Elementary Arts Education.
About Utah State University's Arts Education Endowments
Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Access Endowed Program for Students with Disabilities
Caine College of the Arts,
Raymond Veon, Assistant Dean and Director of Arts Access
The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Access Endowed Program brings the arts to students with disabilities through field trips, artist residencies, professional development, and ongoing arts instruction in Life Skills classes in art, music, dance and drama.
Beverley Taylor Sorenson Endowed Program for Elementary Arts Education
Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Sciences, Aurora Hughes Villa, Director of Elementary Arts Education
The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Endowed Program for Elementary Arts Education develops the skills of classroom and arts teachers to integrate arts education to help students learn better in all of their classes and across the curriculum.
About Beverley Taylor Sorenson
Beverley Taylor Sorenson, who passed away May 27, 2013, developed a rich legacy of love and support for arts education in Utah. She was instrumental in reinvigorating elementary arts education at institutions of higher education that prepare classroom teachers and teaching artists to teach the arts. Her work with area schools helped develop a renewed effort to insure Utah children have a complete education that includes sequential K-6 arts education. This dedication included ensuring that students with disabilities would have access to quality arts instruction and arts experiences.
Growing up, Beverley's family was deeply involved in artistic pursuits. As a child, she participated in dance and music training. As an adult, Beverley and her husband, the late biotechnology pioneer James LeVoy Sorenson, were ardent supporters of both the arts and education through the family's Legacy Foundation, and in other philanthropic efforts.
Beverley's dedication to the arts was strong, her love and concern for children was equally strong and was the driving force behind her efforts with Art Works for Kids. She raised eight children of her own, and now has numerous grandchildren. She graduated from the University of Utah with a teaching certificate, and taught kindergarten in a Quaker school in New York. As a young woman, Beverley also served as the children's music coordinator for her church.
For many years, Beverley was concerned about the lack of arts education in Utah schools, particularly elementary schools. She recognized both the lack of resources dedicated to teacher training in arts education, and the lack of legislative funding for school-based arts programs.
A catalyzing event occurred in 1995 during a visit Beverley made to Lincoln Elementary School in Salt Lake City. During the visit, she saw the dramatic impact a quality visual arts program made on one of the most troubled schools in the area. She saw first-hand the bridges it created between students of different cultures, religions, and economic backgrounds. Beverley learned from the teachers and the principal how the arts significantly increased learning in other subjects, decreased behavior problems and increased cooperation and self-esteem among the students. She also saw that these benefits spilled over into families and the surrounding community to bring them closer together.
This experience, coupled with a very personal concern for a grandson who was struggling in school, motivated Beverley to dedicate her time and resources to launching Art Works for Kids. She and a small team of professional arts educators started with just six schools and a K-2 program. The foundation has since impacted tens of thousands of children throughout the state.
In addition to serving students and schools directly, Beverley was a tireless advocate for quality arts education. For years, she lobbied lawmakers to put the arts back in elementary school classrooms. In 2002, she secured public funds to help expand the number of schools Art Works for Kids could serve. When the lawmakers stopped funding the program after just one year due to budget shortfalls, Beverley stepped in and fully funded it herself. In 2008, arts education in Utah received a significant boost when the Utah State Legislature funded the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program, which brings the Art Works for Kids integrated teaching model to classrooms across the state. In addition to providing instruction in elementary schools, the program funds teacher training programs at colleges and universities; pays for arts supplies, equipment and materials; and supports ongoing research to ensure quality implementation and results.
Because Beverley's vision included all students regardless of ability, she worked with the Caine College of the Arts and the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Sciences at Utah State University to establish and endow the Arts Access Program to reach students of all abilities through the arts.