Governor speaks at celebration for Community School of the Arts

Gov. Asa Hutchinson spoke Tuesday at an event commemorating the Community School of the Arts' new center, which will be completed in about a year.

Hutchinson said the community recognizes the importance of the arts and has made this vision a reality.

Rosilee Russell, who founded the school and serves as its executive director, planted the dream of a new center and worked with the people of Fort Smith to see it to fruition, Hutchinson said.

“You know the arts are important," Hutchinson said about the area.

The Community School of the Arts will move into the facility after utilizing the St. Boniface Elementary School building for several years, Russell said in March. The school offers classes to children from age 3 to high school-aged.

The center will house up to 500 students at a time. The school is planning to expand its programs to include art classes for high school students within 60 miles of the facility. These students will receive high school credits for the classes through their schools.

Hutchinson said that the center will serve 39 school districts in the area.

Russell said the center will be 40,000 square feet and two stories.

“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time," Russell said.

Mayor George McGill as well as Cody Walls, a teacher with the Community School of the Arts, thanked Hutchinson for the dedication he has shown in advocating for the arts in Fort Smith.

McGill said that when he worked as a legislator, despite being on opposite sides of the aisle, he and Hutchinson became friends.

“Our focus was on what was good for Arkansas and especially what was good, what’s good for Fort Smith," McGill said. He later added “and he’s [Hutchinson] been a champion of ours for many, many years."

Walls was a student in the Community School of the Arts eight years ago and returned to teach at the school amid the pandemic.

“The impact that you’ve had and the investment that you’ve made into these kids’ lives goes much further than CSA," Walls said. "They’re going to go out and they’re going to inspire other young people. They’re going to go to some of the best colleges in the country to pursue whatever they want to pursue, and they’re going to be successful because of the work that you have done here at CSA."

Walls said that the arts are important to developing young people.

“Thank you for advocating for our students when many of them feel overshadowed by large sports programs," Walls said to the governor.

Alex Gladden is a University of Arkansas graduate. She previously reported for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and The Jonesboro Sun before joining the Times Record. She can be contacted at agladden@swtimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Governor speaks at celebration for Community School of the Arts