Arts Education Department
Our Arts Education Program is designed to enrich students' lives with diverse learning and participation opportunities. Young learners in elementary school explore visual arts and music as core subjects, nurturing their artistic and creative potential. Starting in fifth grade, our String Orchestra program offers a continuous instructional path (grades 5-12) for interested students, helping them build fine motor skills, develop their hearing, and prepare for instrumental music success. As students progress to middle and high school, they can specialize by selecting courses in Band, Choral Music, Visual Arts, Theatre Arts, and Dance.
For students seeking advanced artistic challenges, the program sponsors numerous opportunities, such as All-County Middle and High School Band, Chorus, Dance, and Theatre Festival events, the Cumberland County Youth Orchestra, and the Cross Creek Mall Visual Arts Exhibit. Our students and ensembles consistently achieve high recognition, including awards, scholarships, and advanced placements in a wide range of competitions, festivals, and performances at the local, district, and state levels.
Arts Proficiency Endorsement
The North Carolina Arts Endorsement is an optional high school diploma endorsement that students can earn by completing a minimum of four arts credits with a 3.0 GPA or higher in each arts credit, and participating in at least 40 hours of approved arts-related extracurricular (non-graded) activities. You can learn more about this diploma endorsement by reading the Arts Proficiency Endorsement Quick Guide.
Extracurricular activity can be recorded on the Arts Endorsement Extracurricular Activity Form.
Summer Workshops
Cumberland County Schools is proud to offer two enriching musical opportunities this summer led by the district’s premier music educators. The Middle School Summer Band Workshop will be held from June 15–18, 2026, at John Griffin Middle School and is open to current band students in grades 6–8 with at least one year of classroom experience. This program runs daily from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and includes a workshop T-shirt, snacks, and lunch provided by the CCS Child Nutrition department. The camp will conclude with a public concert on June 18th at 2:00 p.m. The registration cost is $25 paid through School Cash Online, and you can register now for the Middle School Summer Band Workshop HERE through May 15, 2026.
For orchestra students, the Summer Strings Workshop takes place at Gray’s Creek Middle School across two weeks: June 8–11 and June 15–18, 2026. This eight-day experience is available to current orchestra students in grades 5–11 with at least one year of classroom experience and runs from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. daily. This workshops will also culminate in a public concert on Thursday, June 18 at 11:00 a.m. While no lunch is provided for this workshop, participants will receive a workshop T-shirt as part of the $25 registration cost. You can sign up now for the Summer Strings Workshop HERE through May15, 2026.
Please note that the final deadline to register for both the Band and Strings Workshops is May 15, 2026.