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'Music ... is not optional'
Adams Morgan center seeks to enrich lives of deprived children
(Published October 3, 2005)

By LAURA PETERSEN
Staff Writer

Each week, hundreds of students come through the doors of the Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts in Adams Morgan, where they store their book bags in cubbyholes and munch on the snack-of-the-day at the kid's café – on a recent day, it's peaches -- while waiting for their classes or private music lessons to start.

"We feel that music and the arts is not optional – it's part of a well-rounded education," said Rhonda Buckley, the center's founder. "It's critical to a healthy life. Whatever kind of expression is true to who you are is critical to your development."

Buckley said the center's mission is to make the colorful world of art, music, dance, creative writing and drama more affordable to low-income families living in Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights. Of the center's 300 current students, 80 percent come from families with annual incomes of $34,000 or less.

The center, located at 1700 Kalorama Road NW, provides a creative after-school haven to children and teens, as well as their parents, for as little as $15 per semester. Sixty-five classes are offered this fall, covering subjects that range from ballet and painting to belly dancing and photography. Private music lessons are offered for 14 instruments.

The capacity of the center has doubled since it moved last year from its original location in the basement of subsidized housing on Ontario Street to the spacious first floor of a condominium building, according to Buckley.

Still, every square inch of the center is packed with art rooms, practice rooms, a full-sized dance studio, a computer center, an art library, a darkroom and an 88-seat theater complete with a sound booth that doubles as a recording studio.

"I think it's really good to be right here and continue to be a place, a center of bridging economic backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds, educational backgrounds," said Mary Shapiro, a guitar teacher at the center. "The arts can bring everybody to the same playing field."

The center hopes to strengthen ties within the community through parental involvement, student relationships with teachers, and performances at the center. Musical theater workshop students produced three sold-out performance of "The Wiz" during the summer. Buckley said that after attending the show, adults' perceptions of the students changed.

"All of a sudden they look totally different to you," she said. "They are kids who are rich and gifted with talent and not just thugs hanging out on the corner."

This effect goes both ways. Shapiro explained that when she says "hi" to kids on the street, they return the greeting because they know she's a music teacher, not just someone coming into the area to patronize the bars or restaurants.

Most of the 90 teachers who come to share their passion and expertise are volunteers. They are lawyers on Capitol Hill and local artists. They are National Symphony Orchestra musicians, Washington National Opera singers and Washington Ballet dancers.

Tina Nguyen said she appreciates the opportunity her two sons have to explore activities they might have seen on television or in a movie or magazine.

"They are able to explain to the kids that some of that they can do, too -- like making a movie or writing an article, or anything creative – they break it down here and make it reachable," Nguyen said.

The $1,200 cost of a semester's worth of instruction and supplies is almost completely subsidized on a sliding scale. Equipment and supplies are provided, including instruments, ballet leotards, paint and clay.

Funding for the nonprofit center comes mostly from private foundations and corporate sponsors, according to Buckley. She said the center had to raise $3.3 million to lease and renovate the space the center occupies, and to operate for the next two years. The center's next goal is to raise another $1 million by June 2006 to purchase its current space, which Buckley said will save more than $100,000 on rent each year – money that can be put into the art programs.

Buckley founded the center in 1998 after working for Good Shepherd Ministries, an after-school center run by Patricia M. Sitar. Buckley plays the saxophone and wanted to make sure all children had the opportunity to explore art and music.

She cites several other benefits of such an education.

"You can read lots of studies about the correlation between good grades, especially in math and science, and the study of music," she said.

Students also learn the importance of responsibility. They are required to attend their lessons or call ahead to excuse themselves. If students miss too many lessons without alerting their instructor, they are dropped from the program.

Buckley said her primary goal is to provide a safe place for children and teens to go after school, where staff members greet them by name.

Mission accomplished, according to Joel Perez, who comes to the center with two brothers three to four times a week.

"It makes me feel like, not at home, but close to home," the 14-year-old said.

The art center plans to gradually increase enrollment until it reaches 500 students. More information about the center's programs is available by calling (202) 797-2145 or visiting www.sitarcenter.org.