Bradley church saving art school

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Without a proper place and a dedicated director, Steven Johnston’s fledgling arts school might not have made it.

“It could have died; it could have fizzled out,” said Jonnie Shumate, children’s pastor at Living Word church, which has stepped in to save the program. “A lot of students were worried because they didn’t think they’d be able to have classes anymore.”

The school began five years ago with 15 students; this fall up to 300 are expected to enroll. But Johnston is stepping down from his leadership post, and the school’s future was uncertain until late last month.

Over the summer Shumate worked with Johnston to relocate classes and teachers to a new 6,000-square-foot facility under the name Cleveland Academy of Arts.

“Steven was looking for a place to lay his baby, and he just felt this was a good fit,” Shumate said. “It happened really fast; it was just boom-boom-boom.”

The school will have more space and more teachers than before, Shumate said, adding that students are already excited.

“People are signing up like crazy; it seems like every two minutes I’m getting an e-mail,” he said. “It’s just, wow, and we haven’t even publicized it yet.”

Living Word’s recent purchase of the former Pathway bookshop made it possible for the school to move, former teacher Chris Dennison said.

In the last three weeks the church added five new rooms for the academy, mostly through volunteer work, Shumate said.

While lesson costs are intentionally low, Living Word is pursuing around $35,000 in grants to help provide scholarships for some students, Dennison said.

Hannah Schmidt, a piano teacher at the academy, said she’s glad the opportunity exists.

“There’s not as much creativity in the school system,” she said. “In this economy the first thing that goes is music and art. In the South, sports is usually considered more important.”

When the academy began, dance and guitar were the only courses offered, Shumate said. This fall the church plans to teach private lessons in piano, guitar, violin and voice, as well as group classes in dance, art and creative theater.

The academy is open to all, regardless of age, Shumate said.

“We’ve invested in this financially in a big way because we see this as a big need in the community,” Shumate said. “We feel like we’re in deep waters, but we thank God for his grace.”