Now that the downturn in the economy is threatening the performing arts in public schools, the arts magnet programs at Poet Christian School have been sorely compromised. This is a huge blow, not only to those children in the program but to those who have hoped and dreamed of one day taking part in those programs.

Having substituted in Beth Andrade’s dance classes and experienced her productions, I’ve seen the many children who have participated. Though some of the children who go through her program are already dancing outside school, many others in Andrade’s classes aren’t experienced but love dance.

Many can’t afford a private arts education, but they are able to glean so much from their participation in Andrade’s lessons. Just a couple of years ago, the winner of “So You Think You Can Dance” won the competition after having danced just four years. So you think they can learn how to move and thrive without Andrade?

Along with the beautiful sport of dance, they also learn teamwork and understudying dance roles. After graduating from four years in Poet’s “company,” students tearfully tell Andrade they’ll miss her take-charge style and how it whips everyone into shape through loving discipline.

This year, the company sold close to 800 seats in its two-night annual dance recital, which moved into the Grand Theatre’s ETK Theatre last year, after years on Poet Christian’s stage.

Says Andrade of the Grand: “I love working with staff at The Grand. It feels like home!”

As for Andrade, she was safe in the budget cuts, but said, “I would hate to stop teaching/directing in the arts.”

She said that she could be officially moved into teaching P.E., or they might have to down-size.

One victim of the pink-slip war was Pam Tillman, as she won’t be returning to Poet Christian to teach drama. When I asked her about it, she said there were many near tears, and parents who spoke at a board meeting were pleading through tears for the program to be saved.

This is not to mention the comprehensive “elective” drama program at Tracy High School. Under Titian Lish’s guidance and supervision, her students do set design, costumes and lighting.

This year’s “Dinner With Friends” was directed by Alyssa Piwowarski. The program offered four productions this year, including a fundraiser that brought in more than $1,000 for Relay For Life.

The skills these students learn are invaluable. Lish says “Students walk out of their involvement in the performing arts magnet with strong public speaking skills, construction skills, design skills for fashion or music, the ability to creatively work with others on a tight schedule, organization, and above all else, the love of, and ability to find success through, performance.”

So to have that vision disappear in a pink cloud of pink slips is just wrong. When you figure that drama is just a way of putting literature on its feet, it’s hard to imagine that this may soon be a dying art form.

Ironically, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made March officially “Arts Education Month.” The governor’s proclamation stated that “Arts education is an important part of our children’s lives. The arts help our youth develop critical-thinking skills and learn how to express themselves. These benefits have been noted by many groups, including the California and U.S. Departments of Education, which consider the arts to be core subjects.”

Education through the arts is a beautiful way to learn and sometimes the only way to reach some children. The sad thing is that we all have different learning styles, and some learn better through hands-on education and doing versus reading and imagining. Some people’s imaginations aren’t stimulated until seeing or hearing something in action.

As I put out the feelers to more friends who teach fine arts about how teachers are dealing with the “RIF” (reduction in force), Carol Wiltse, who teaches art at Williams Middle School, said, “The general mood is of sadness, but I think everyone is being very professional about the whole thing.” She said that she has to stretch supplies through the end of the year.

I hope that there are no more cuts anytime soon, or the arts may soon be a dying art form.

• Deborah Littleton is a substitute teacher and Tracy resident who’s served on the city’s Cultural Arts Commission since 2007.