Schools shouldn't cut performing arts because that’s taking away an opportunity to be social and bond with people around you. Cutting performing arts could also minimize or remove a potential career path for many students who are passionate about performing arts. Some kids go into school and performing arts is the only thing that keeps them enjoying school. That's the only time they can see their real friends or even learn about something they are actually interested in. I feel like taking that away can cause so many issues in a student's personal life. Say you come to school and the only thing that's going to make you happy that day is your PA class of any kind, whether it's singing, dancing, acting ect. Now it's gone. My school for example has a performing arts academy. Imagine if they took that away. People whose passions are based around that wouldn't have any support for their future. 

Think about it. You're in a musical where you have practice every single day for hours at a time with a big group of people. Walking into this you dont think you’ll talk to anyone or even become friends with that many people at once. The truth is you will. There's almost no way that you won't. Schools normally cut programs due to cost and budget. It's known that most public schools can barely afford to run. An article from Penn State blogs said this “So why not cut funding equally to all programs to keep them”. I agree because instead of cutting just the arts and cutting them first, I feel that if the schools were to take some of the funds away from all the programs then they can all be kept. No, they probably won't run the same but at least they will still be there. At least some students will still have something to look forward to in school. 

So if a school really has to cut something, I feel like there are definitely other things that can have less of a priority. Like PE for example. My school makes it required to have gym class 3 out of the 4 years of high school. While the Connecticut General Assembly states “the high school graduation requirement law specifies that each student must have earned a minimum of one credit of physical education during high school in order to graduate”. I personally  don't think we need PE  and I don't think we should be spending as much as we do on it. 1 or maybe 2 years of gym class is enough. We still have health like most schools do and I think that is a class where they can tell you how to take care of your body. I do not think it is necessary for schools to “keep you in shape”. If it was just 1 or 2 years of gym, then teaching about staying healthy in health class I'm pretty sure  the schools would save money, which then can prevent whole programs getting cut.

Keeping the performing arts program available, we know that students have the opportunity to actually enjoy school and make new connections with their community. Whether it's acting, dancing, singing, or playing an instrument , these programs provide something for students. When it comes to performing arts programs let's think about making them an afterschool program instead of fully taking them away from students with the passion.