Newsroom
The press contact for Arts for All is Marta Martinez, Communications Coordinator, (213) 273-8334, [email protected].
THIRTY-TWO GRANTS AWARDED TO SUPPORT
ARTS EDUCATION IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Largest Percentage of Funding Supports
Artist Residencies and Teacher Professional Development
The Los Angeles County Arts Commission announces $560,000 in grants to 31 school districts and one charter school network in LA County through the Advancement Grant Program. Administered by LA County’s arts education initiative, Arts for All, these grants are matched by school district funds and offer resources to advance high quality instruction in dance, media arts, music, theatre and visual arts.
Arts for All has supported districts in creating and carrying out strategic plans for arts education since 2003. “We are committed to supporting school districts in their efforts to implement comprehensive K-12 arts education,” says Arts for All Director Denise Grande. “These grants help districts address their most pressing needs.” Designed to be both flexible and responsive to the shifting education landscape, the Advancement Grant Program is central to Arts for All’s mission to help school districts build the necessary infrastructure to provide high quality arts instruction to all of LA County’s public school students.
Ranging from $10,000 to $20,800, 32 grants were given to districts in the Arts for All network to invest in developing long term, sustainable approaches for delivering arts instruction. This year’s funds support artist residencies in 12 school districts, teacher professional development opportunities in 15 districts, and six districts will develop arts integration programs in their schools. A complete list of grantees can be found below.
The Advancement Grant Program is funded by The Angell Foundation, The Boeing Company, California Community Foundation, The Carl and Roberta Deutsch Foundation, Colburn Foundation, The Dwight Stuart Youth Fund, Herb Alpert Foundation, Rosenthal Family Foundation, and The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation.
Arts for All is the Los Angeles County initiative dedicated to making the arts core in K-12 public education. Established in 2002 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Arts for All is a partnership between the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Arts for All currently works with 59 of 81 Los Angeles County school districts, plus two charter school networks, to implement policies and plans that support high quality arts education for the 1.6 million public school students in the County. www.lacountyartsforall.org
The Los Angeles County Arts Commission fosters excellence, diversity, vitality, understanding and accessibility of the arts in Los Angeles County. The Arts Commission provides leadership in cultural services for the County, encompassing 88 municipalities, including funding and job opportunities, professional development and general resources. www.lacountyarts.org.
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ARTS FOR ALL
2015-16 ADVANCEMENT GRANT RECIPIENTS
Beverly Hills Unified School District: $18,100 to support professional development in dance and theatre for kindergarten and first grade teachers, conference attendance for Visual and Performing Arts Specialists and increasing the work hours of the VAPA Coordinator.
Burbank Unified School District: $20,300 to support professional development in visual arts for secondary teachers and artist residencies at five elementary sites.
Castaic Union School District: $16,400 to support the expansion of the elementary music program, to grow student attendance at performances and to partner with the Kennedy Center for teacher professional development.
Centinela Valley Union High School District: $19,500 to support expanded opportunities for students to showcase their artwork and to experience the work of professional artists.
Covina-Valley Unified School District: $17,500 to support district-wide artist residencies for third grade and to coordinate a partnership with Azusa Pacific University.
Culver City Unified School District: $19,800 to support district-wide professional development and artist residencies from the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra for kindergarten through third grade.
Duarte Unified School District: $19,800 to support the expansion of the elementary music program through additional teachers and instruments.
East Whittier City School District: $18,400 to support district-wide teacher professional development in visual arts and theatre instruction from The California Arts Project.
El Monte Union High School District: $17,500 to support the repair and purchase of musical instruments district wide.
El Rancho Unified School District: $19,100 to support assessment, communications and curriculum development led by the Visual and Performing Arts Council.
Glendale Unified School District: $15,700 to support the purchase of musical instruments for secondary school sites district wide.
Hacienda La Puente Unified School District: $20,800 to support arts integration curriculum and professional development district wide.
Hawthorne School District: $17,900 to support district-wide professional development on arts integration.
ICEF Public Schools: $15,800 to support teacher professional development in visual arts instruction for Lou Dantzler Elementary School from The Armory Center for the Arts.
Keppel Union School District: $16,400 to support district-wide professional development in visual arts integration.
Lancaster School District: $10,000 to support the CREATE Festival, a showcase of student artwork.
Las Virgenes Unified School District: $16,000 to support teacher professional development in music integration and residencies from musician, Andrew Grueschow.
Lawndale Elementary School District: $18,600 to support arts integration and cross-district collaboration strategies guided by the Regional Arts Coordinator.
Little Lake Elementary School District: $11,700 to support theatre residencies for third through eighth grade from the Drama Education Network.
Manhattan Beach Unified School District: $19,500 to support district-wide artist residencies in dance and theatre for kindergarten though fifth grade, and a Visual and Performing Arts Lead position that will oversee the district arts plan.
Monrovia Unified School District: $10,000 to support the expansion of the district-wide music program for kindergarten through third grade.
Montebello Unified School District: $17,500 to support district-wide arts integration curriculum and professional development for second grade.
Mountain View School District: $17,000 to support district-wide artist residencies in puppetry that build English Language Arts skills for second through fourth grade.
Norwalk La Mirada Unified School District: $19,700 to support district-wide teacher professional development in visual arts integration for elementary grades from The California Arts Project.
Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District: $10,400 to support district-wide visual arts teacher professional development for second grade, and artist residencies for fourth grade from Palos Verdes Art Center.
Paramount Unified School District: $17,000 to support the expansion of the elementary instrumental music program and the revision of the district arts education strategic plan.
Pasadena Unified School District: $20,500 to support curriculum development and artist residencies in elementary grades aligned to the Common Core State Standards.
Pomona Unified School District: $18,400 to support professional development in visual arts instruction from The California Arts Project.
Santa Monica Unified School District: $20,500 to support district-wide artist residencies in dance for fifth grade from Dancing Classrooms.
Saugus Union School District: $20,200 to support professional development in arts integration, artist residencies, school performances and field trips for students.
Whittier City School District: $19,400 to support district-wide music instruction for third through fifth grade by hiring an additional instructor.
Wiseburn School District: $20,600 to support artist residencies in visual arts at Anza Elementary from P.S. Arts, and to expand the instrumental music program to two additional grade levels.
The press contact for Arts for All is Amy Phillips, Senior Communications Manager, Arts for All, (213) 202-5944, [email protected].
GREATER ACCESS TO THE ARTS
FOR LOS ANGELES COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS
WITH HIGH TITLE I POPULATIONS
FUNDING TARGETS STUDENTS IN UNDERSERVED DISTRICTS
Arts for All, the Los Angeles Arts Commission’s county-wide arts education initiative, is providing funds to eight non-profit arts organizations to work with Los Angeles County students in five school districts with high Title I populations.
Approximately $107,000 will be distributed through Arts for All’s Student Access Fund to create greater access to the arts for students in underserved districts. Students will receive in-depth arts instruction during the 2013-14 school year through multi-week residency programs with teaching artists. The program is supported by The Eisner Foundation, California Community Foundation and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
Participating school districts are Compton Unified, Lancaster Elementary, Little Lake City Elementary, Mountain View Elementary and South Whittier Elementary School Districts. The arts organizations providing instruction are Theatre of Hearts/Youth First, Flights of Fancy, Royer Studios and The Music Center.
While the roll out of the new Common Core State Standards presents challenges to school districts, it also presents innovative opportunities for arts education on a much larger scale. The standards call for complex and creative thinking by students, and increasingly educators are exploring ways in which teaching through the arts can help achieve educational goals.
“We know that there are areas of the County where few partnerships between arts organizations and school districts exist,” says Arts for All Director Dense Grande. “Our objective is to build and nurture sustainable partnerships between the arts and education communities where there is little interaction.”
Research commissioned by Arts for All in 23 Los Angeles County school districts revealed that students in high poverty areas have less access to quality arts education compared to their peers attending schools in more affluent areas. In response to this inequity, the Student Access Fund is dedicating resources to districts where over 65% of students qualify for free or reduced-priced meals and less than 40% of the schools receive services from outside arts education providers. Priority was also given to districts that did not receive any other Arts for All funding during the 2012-13 school year.
“Launching the Student Access Fund represents a major milestone for Arts for All in
addressing the diverse needs of our partner districts, enabling us to broker relationships with the larger arts community that stands ready to support them,” concludes Grande.
All five districts plan to use this designated funding to undertake residency work, which demonstrates their commitment to bring arts education into classrooms during the school day. Some are also combining instruction with field trip opportunities. Most are implementing projects that integrate learning objectives in both the Visual and Performing Arts Standards and the Common Core State Standards. Some are also utilizing this partnership as an opportunity for in-classroom professional development to strengthen classroom teachers’ capacity to deliver arts instruction on their own.
Arts for All, an initiative of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, supports Los Angeles County public school districts’ efforts to implement arts education through policy development, strategic planning, grants to improve teaching and learning, advocacy, research and partnerships with funders committed to arts education. The goal is to strengthen and sustain high quality arts instruction and integration as students prepare for college and the 21st century workforce. There are currently 52 school districts and two Los Angeles charter school networks participating in this countywide initiative established in 2002 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. For more information, visit www.lacountyartsforall.org
Project descriptions available upon request
The press contact for Arts for All is Amy Phillips, Senior Communications Manager, Arts for All, (213) 202-5944, [email protected].
LOS ANGELES AND ORANGE COUNTY ARTS, EDUCATION AND SCIENCE LEADERS
CREATE ARTS AND STEM COLLABORATIVE FOR 21ST CENTURY LEARNING
Boeing-Funded Initiative is First of Its Kind in the Region
September 9, 2013 -- Leaders from Los Angeles and Orange County’s arts, education and science communities have established the Arts and STEM Collaborative for 21st Century Learning. The purpose of the initiative is to explore how representatives from two counties and multiple content areas can work together to transform area schools into creative incubators. The Boeing Company invested $75,000 to support this regional effort. A report will be released in December documenting the work accomplished in 2013 and highlighting findings relevant for the field.
“Boeing continues to inspire the engineers and scientists of tomorrow through innovative initiatives and programs designed to help them prepare for technical jobs and careers,” says Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager, Space & Intelligence Systems and chief executive officer, Boeing Satellite Systems International, Inc. “Quality STEM and arts education for all students will help develop the skills and creativity we need in the future workforce.”
The Los Angeles County Arts Commission, through its arts education initiative Arts for All, Arts Orange County, Los Angeles County Office of Education and Orange County Department of Education are leading the collaborative.
“This joint effort breaks new ground in our region,” says Denise Grande, director of Arts for All. “Members of these diverse communities rarely have the opportunity to talk with one another about their work within schools, to examine specific strategies that might be transferable or to explore ways in which resources might be shared to leverage greater impact on student learning,” states Grande. “We are grateful to Boeing for initiating this innovative approach to a regionalized STEAM effort.”
To date, participants in the collaborative include representatives from the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, California Science Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Art Center College of Design, Science OC, Cal State Fullerton, OC STEM Initiative, The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine, Beall Center for Art + Technology at UC Irvine and Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Representatives from State Senator Carol Liu’s office and The Boeing Company also sit on the committee.
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) currently rolling out across the country emphasize the need to build students’ critical thinking skills. These new standards offer a key opportunity to re-imagine how the arts and science might contribute to advancing education through real world project based learning. Both content areas are tied to leading industries and technologies that shape our world and can benefit students in preparing for college, careers and civic engagement. This project offers an opportunity to pool intellectual capital from each subject matter group with the aim of making a larger impact on broad scale educational change.
The first convening of the group last May focused on identifying common outcomes and/or measures of success for students. Additionally, subcommittees were formed and tasked with exploring how arts/STEM concepts and practices align with Common Core State Standards; examining how arts/STEM initiatives might support other statewide priorities; and building public awareness of the potential impact of a strong arts/STEM curriculum.
Arts for All, an initiative of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, supports Los Angeles County public school districts’ efforts to implement arts education through policy development, strategic planning, grants to improve teaching and learning, advocacy, research and partnerships with funders committed to arts education. The goal is to strengthen and sustain high quality arts instruction and integration as students prepare for college and the 21st century workforce. There are currently 52 school districts and two Los Angeles charter school networks participating in this countywide initiative established in 2002 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. For more information, visit www.lacountyartsforall.org
Arts Orange County was established in 1995 as the nonprofit, countywide arts council of Orange County, California. The council's dedicated staff and Board of Directors support a vision to establish the county as one of the top creative communities in the nation. To that end, Arts Orange County serves as a resource and advocate for the arts community, as a catalyst for leadership on arts issues, and as a sponsor of programs and services which enhance public awareness of arts activities and promote the development of the arts and arts education.
The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) is the nation's largest regional education agency. Under the leadership of Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Arturo Delgado and the County Board of Education, LACOE supports 80 public school districts and numerous other agencies in ensuring educational excellence for the region's two million preschool and school-age children.
The Orange County Department of Education strives to make a difference in Orange County schools through world class resources, services and opportunities for parents, educators, students and community members.
Arts for All Expand Programs for Students Online Directory with Addition of 16 New Programs from 14 Providers
September 27, 2012 - The Los Angeles County Arts Commission has announced that Arts for All has selected 16 new programs from 14 Los Angeles non-profit education service providers for inclusion in Arts for All’s Programs for Students Directory at www.lacountyartsforall.org. The directory is an online resource for educators looking for quality arts education residencies, performances, field trips and workshops that meet the California state standards. Users can strategically search for arts education programs by arts discipline, subject area, grade level, program type and cultural origin. For artists and organizations, this directory offers a free marketing opportunity to reach the 84,000 teachers and administrators in Los Angeles County. The directory now holds 272 programs from 112 providers.
Full press release here.
13 Arts for All School Districts Receive $121,729 to Bring Artists into Classrooms
September 10, 2012 - Arts for All will provide matching funds totaling $121,729 to 13 Los Angeles County school districts for artist residencies during the 2012-13 school year. Under the Residency Grant Program, Arts for All partner-districts are eligible to apply for grants that bring artists into the classrooms. The artist residencies with the students dovetail with the goals of the districts’ arts education plans, helping to restore arts education to the core curriculum in L.A. County schools. Support for this program comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, Biller Family Foundation and Dwight Stuart Youth Fund.
Under the umbrella of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Arts for All is L.A. County’s arts education collaborative seeking systemic educational reform. Now in its 10th year, Arts for All is working to bring creativity to every L.A. County classroom by restoring the arts to the curriculum and empowering school districts to prepare all students for the workforce of tomorrow. Currently, there are 49 school districts reaching 560,465 students, which have joined Arts for All with a commitment to arts education reform.
Full press release here.
Arts for All Selects 12 School Districts to Participate in Training in the Arts: $674,200 Supports Program for 169 Schools
June 7, 2012 - Arts for All has selected 12 school districts from across Los Angeles County to participate in a professional development program that will strengthen the arts education skills and knowledge for teachers in 169 schools. Through a competitive application process Beverly Hills, Burbank, East Whittier, Glendale, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Las Virgenes, Los Nietos, Manhattan Beach, Pomona, Rosemead and Whittier Union school districts, serving over 185,000 students, were selected to take part in this multi-year program.
“Arts for All is able to be responsive to the needs of each individual school district,” says Los Angeles County Arts Commission Executive Director Laura Zucker. “Recipient districts will develop customized strategies to foster creativity in their classrooms by giving their teachers the tools to deliver quality arts education.”
Full press release here.
The National Endowment for the Arts Recognizes Arts for All Model for Arts Education with a $100,000 Grant
April 25, 2012 - For the seventh consecutive year, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has funded the Residency Grant Program of Arts for All, L.A County’s nationally recognized collaboration to restore all arts disciplines into the core curriculum for all K-12 public school students. This year’s NEA award is for $100,000, an increase of 25 percent over last year’s grant, and will bring teaching artists into classrooms. Last year the program benefitted more than 8,000 students.
Responding to word of the NEA grant, Laura Zucker, Executive Director of the Arts Commission, which leads the Arts for All collaborative, said, "The NEA’s grant will support vitally important services --- teaching artists partnering with school districts to bring creativity to the classroom. It’s wonderful to see national leadership funding these partnerships, which are critical to teaching 21st century skills."
The Residency Grant Program provides funding that must be matched by County school districts that have committed to the goal of Arts for All by adopting an arts education policy and a long-range plan to provide sequential K-12 arts education based on the California state standards for visual and performing arts. School districts collaborate with residency artists from the Programs for Students database on Arts for All’s Web site (www.lacountyartsforall.org) to support key priorities in their long range plans. These artists and arts organizations are well-versed in their artistic discipline, provide standards-based curriculum and partner effectively with classroom teachers; all have been vetted by a panel of arts education experts. Examples of collaboration through the Residency Grant Program happening during the current school year include:
• Symphonic Jazz Orchestra at Culver City USD – 1st and 2nd graders are learning the fundamentals of music through year-long weekly classes
• Robin Kiss at Paramount USD – 4th graders are exploring the elements of art through creating original art works
• 24th St Theatre at Burbank USD - 4th graders are developing theatre skills such as character development, improvisation and text analysis.
• Robert Gilliam at Manhattan Beach USD – 5th graders are learning, practicing and performing urban contemporary dance.
To further ensure students receive the highest standards of arts instruction through the program, Arts for All will now provide participating school districts and artists with professional development and coaching on best practices in assessing student learning.
National Endowment for the Arts Welcomes New Director of Arts Education: Ayanna Hudson joins NEA from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission
Washington, DC—In 2011, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded more than $13 million in funding through its arts education program. Beginning on July 2, that significant level of support will be guided by Ayanna Hudson, the agency’s new director of arts education. Hudson joins the NEA from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission where she led the commission’s lauded Arts for All regional collaborative designed to return arts to the core curriculum. Chairman Landesman made the announcement today at a national forum sponsored by the Arts Education Partnership.
"I am pleased to welcome Ayanna Hudson to the National Endowment for the Arts," said Chairman Rocco Landesman. "Ayanna has built and led an extraordinary program at the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. That pioneering work will be a tremendous asset to the NEA as we seek to strengthen our investment in the creative lives of our nation’s young people."
Full press release here.
Programs for Educators, Arts for All's Online Directory of Professional Development, Expands
March 22, 2012 - Arts for All, L.A. County’s arts education collaborative, has selected 12 new programs from 10 providers for its Programs for Educators online directory. “These training programs are designed to build the skills, knowledge and confidence of teachers —generalists, arts specialists and teaching artists — who provide arts instruction,” said L.A. County Arts Commission Director of Arts Education Ayanna Hudson. All 45 programs in the directory have been vetted by a panel comprised of arts and education professionals. The new programs use animation, dance, visual arts, world music, digital media, singing and songwriting and improvisational theatre not only to help instructors teach the arts but subjects such as science, math, English and social studies.
Providers added to the online directory Programs for Educators are:
AnimAction, Inc.
ARTS at WORK
Celena Turney
Ethnomusic, Inc.
Gramercy Partners, Inc.
Mary Pickford Institute for Film Education
Music Center: Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County
Southland Opera
Theatre of Hearts/Youth First
The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company
Full Press Release here.
Search the full directory
Arts for All Launches New Teacher Professional Development Grant Program
February 23, 2012 - Arts for All is now able to offer professional development in arts education customized to the needs of Los Angeles County school districts. The new Teacher Professional Development Grant Program is supported by a trio of gifts totaling $674,200. The Boeing Company contributed $270,000 and the W.M. Keck Foundation $250,000 to underwrite professional development in 11 school districts to be determined by competitive application. The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation’s gift of $154,200 is specifically for the Rosemead School District and includes the re-establishment of the district arts coordinator position in addition to professional development.
Full press release here.
Full program details can be found here.
Pasadena Unified School District Awarded Federal Grant
Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Superintendent Jon R. Gundry announced that the district, in partnership with Pasadena’s Armory Center for the Arts, the Pasadena Educational Foundation (PEF), and UCLA, has been awarded a three-year $1 million U.S. Department of Education grant to fund a program that connects arts education with math. Both PUSD and the Armory are partners in Arts for All. PUSD’s grant is one of only 13 federal Professional Development for Arts Educators (PDAE) grants awarded across the country this year. School districts must partner with local non-profit agencies to qualify. Full release here.
Five LA County Districts Join Arts for All
Arcadia Unified School District joins Sulphur Springs, Rowland, West Covina and Inner City Education Foundation ( a charter school management organization) as the newest Arts for All districts for 2011-12. The Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF), Sulphur Springs Union, Rowland Unified, West Covina Unified and Arcadia Unified Join Arts for All
$100,800 Provided to School Districts to Support Artists in Classrooms
Thirteen Arts For All districts receive Residency Grants for the 2011-12 school year. Teaching artists in all of the four arts disciplines, visual arts, music, theatre and dance, will present high quality, standards based arts instruction to more than 8,000 student in Los Angeles County.
13 Arts For All Districts Receive $100,800 For Artist Residencies.
Arts for All and Arts for LA are both featured in the fall issue of artsLink, Americans for the Arts (AFTA) national magazine (see pp. 9 & 17). The article summarizes the presentation made jointly by Arts for All and Big Thought (Dallas, TX) for the Arts Education Council at the 2011 National AFTA Convention in San Diego. The focus of the discussion was on successful strategies for coordinated delivery of arts education.
Pomona Unified School District Approves Arts Education Plan
On April 16, 2011, the Pomona Unified School District (PUSD) School Board approved a district-wide arts education plan. PUSD joined the L. A. County arts education collaborative, Arts for All, in 2007 and approved the District’s visual and performing arts policy in 2008. During the 2010-11 school year the District worked with an Arts for All coach to re-visit the plan previously developed in 2008. The plan outlines specific phases of implementation of a standards-based, sequential arts curriculum. Full release here. View photo.
Additional coverage: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin: Pomona school board approves visual and performing arts plan
L.A. County Arts Education Collaborative Singled Out as Best in the Nation
Arts for All, Los Angeles County’s dynamic, countywide collaboration to restore standards-based arts education into the public school core curriculum, was awarded the 2011 Arts Education Award by the nation’s leading arts advocacy organization, Americans for the Arts (AFTA). The announcement was made June 16 at AFTA’s annual convention, this year held in San Diego, CA. Full release here. Photo gallery here.
Additional coverage:
LA Times: L.A. County arts education program wins national award
San Gabriel Valley Tribune: "San Gabriel Valley, Whittier schools embrace arts education"
"Americans for the Arts: Americans for the Arts Presents the 2011 Arts Education Award to Los Angeles County’s Arts for All
Announcements
Applications Open For Arts Education Service Providers To Be Included In Arts For All's Programs for Student Directory.
December 9, 2011 - The Los Angeles County Arts Commission invites arts education service providers to apply to be included in Arts for All’s Programs for Students Directory on www.lacountyartsforall.org. The directory is an online resource for educators looking for quality arts education field trips, performances, residencies and workshops that meet the California state standards; users can strategically search for arts education programs by arts discipline, subject area, grade level, program type and cultural origin. For artists and organizations, this directory offers a free marketing opportunity to reach the 97,000 teachers and administrators in Los Angeles County.
To be listed in the directory, individuals and organizations must submit an electronic application form, required supplemental materials and be approved by a peer panel comprised of educators, artists, arts professionals and community members. Before opening an application, prospective applicants should first read the program's guidelines. Both the guidelines and application are available at http://www.laartsed.org/application.
The deadline to apply is January 25, 2012 using the online application.
Arts Education Four-Part Online Intensive Dialogue and Discussion
August 15, 2011 - At the beginning of August, Barry Hessenius, former Director of the California Arts Council, and Julie Fry, Program Officer with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation moderated a Four-Part Intensive Dialogue and Discussion on Arts Education on Barry’s Blog, a service of the Western States Arts Federation (http://blog.westaf.org/ ). The series anticipates National Arts in Education Week, September 11-17, as mandated by Congress in July 2010.
More than 30 arts education leaders participated, including Los Angeles County Arts Commission Executive Director Laura Zucker (Aug. 3 “Field Building”), and the Commission’s Arts for All Director of Education Ayanna Hudson (Aug. 17 “Research”). Read More.
Teaching Creativity with Common Core Standards
Arts for All and L.A. County Department of Education (LACOE) are presenting a joint professional development series, entitled “Teaching Creativity with Common Core Standards." The series is in response to the key findings of Arts for All’s 2009-10 study that revealed the critical role of senior leadership in advancing arts in public schools. Sessions will be held regionally during the 2011-12 school year at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach and at the Huntington Museum and Gardens in Pasadena. Read More.
The National Endowment for the Arts recognizes Arts for All with an $80,000 Grant
May 2011 - Funds will support artists in classrooms in 2011-12 school year. For the sixth consecutive year, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has funded the Residency Grant Program of Arts for All, L.A County’s nationally recognized collaboration to restore all arts disciplines into the core curriculum for all K-12 public school students. This year’s NEA award is for $80,000 and will bring teaching artists into classrooms. Last year the program benefitted more than 11,000 students. Full release here.
Arts for All releases monograph on school district leadership in L.A. County
As part of its goal to make quality, sequential arts education a reality in all public K-12 classrooms in Los Angeles County, Arts for All connects school district personnel with the resources to improve arts learning. In 2009-10, leaders – superintendents, assistant superintendents and arts coordinators – from five County school districts took part in Arts for All’s Leadership Fellows Program. Their experience is captured in the monograph Engaging Senior Leadership to Advance Arts in Schools.
In working with school districts, Arts for All continues to learn much about what it takes to achieve sweeping transformation in our schools. Among the findings that surfaced from the Leadership Fellows Program:
- the pivotal role of the assistant superintendent as key decision-maker in the implementation of arts education across a school district
- the importance of school district leaders engaging in a powerful dialogue about the elements of quality arts instruction and finding a common language to talk about arts education
- the tension between school district leaders’ aspirations for more equity across their schools and the tradition of deferring to school-site level decision-making
We hope that Engaging Senior Leadership to Advance Arts in Schools will become a focus for dialogue, and will help you shape your programs as it has helped us shape ours. The 14-page monograph, which includes an executive summary, has just been released and is available for download here.
If you want to know more about the leadership monograph, please contact [email protected].
Arts for All releases summary findings on measuring quality
As part of its goal to make quality, sequential arts education a reality in all public K-12 classrooms in Los Angeles County, Arts for All connects school districts with effective tools and resources to improve arts learning. The latest of these tools to be created is the Arts for All School Arts Survey: Measuring Quality, Access and Equity in Arts Education.
The survey measures access to and the quality of arts instruction at the school site level as well as developing a system for collecting and reporting this data. The results are useful for schools and school districts to find out what is working, what’s not working, and to point the way toward improvement.
A 10-page summary on the School Arts Survey has just been released and is available for download here.
The summary describes how the survey was built and its first application in five school districts encompassing 100 schools. As a result of this trial-run, some refinements will be made in the survey, but the survey’s strength and utility have been proven. The survey effectively gives Los Angeles County a means of objectively measuring quality and access to arts education and making the results easily accessible.
If you want to know more about the School Arts Survey, please contact [email protected].
More information on Arts for All
The Arts Education Roundtable Listserv is an online forum for Los Angeles County-based arts education providers to share information. With over 500 members, this is the place to learn about jobs and events in the Los Angeles arts education community. Subscribe to the Arts Education Roundtable listserv by sending e-mail to: [email protected]
Arts for All and related events