Veronique Marks has a vision: she wants her local school district to have a Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator who supports dedicated fulltime credentialed arts teachers at each school in the Live Oak Unified School District with access to a designated classroom. She knows that in order to move her vision forward, she needs to complete an assessment of the existing arts education programs in each school. After collecting enrollment data from school principals, she will be able to assess the strengths, weaknesses and issues of equity in the current arts education offerings. In addition, Marks works to establish community relationships and build support for arts education. She strives to make it clear that the goal of arts education isn’t to train all students to become artists, but rather to create well-rounded and engaged students who are creative and collaborative thinkers –traits key to success in the 21^st century workforce.  Arts Now Live Oak is launching with a 5-year plan in mind, working in collaboration with schools and organizations, equipped with a clear picture of where the schools are and how everyone can work together to achieve equitable access and success for the students of Live Oak. 

Eliza Tudor and Brian Buckley, of Nevada County Arts Council, knew that a sure-fire way to start a conversation was by introducing data from a high-quality assessment. That’s why they set about collecting baseline data about arts programming in Nevada County schools, highlighting their unique and creative “flagship” programs, and identifying gaps in addressing standards or issues of access. They gathered a team of retired educators, including two leading lights of the Council’s Education Committee, Liz McAteer and Stan Miller, and used those connections to interview principals in the TK-12 schools. They established a set series of questions to develop a comprehensive picture of every arts offering in the county. After amassing the data, they created a draft that was brought to county principals and open to public consultation. After finalizing their numbers, they presented their findings at their Arts Now Breakfast Launch event held by all the local partners. They then completed a successful application for Strategic Arts Planning Support via California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) in partnership with the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools, which they will implement with the help of the California Alliance's Arts Now Planning Initiative. In the context of planning, this survey will assist local school leaders in making decisions that will affect future generations of students, the quality of education they receive, the livability of their region, and the likelihood of investment in it in years to come. Check out the results of their State of the Arts survey here.

Michelle Holdt, Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator for San Mateo County Office of Education is a collage and bookmaking artist who integrated her artistic practice into the creation of a county-wide arts plan. She assembled a leadership team that worked with Peggy Burt, of the California Alliance for Arts Education, to collaboratively create a Strategic Arts Plan for San Mateo County. After the plan was written, Michelle and the team realized that it would be fitting to create a Strategic Arts Plan that was in itself a piece of art!  They had used the arts as a critical component of their planning work - so why not allow it to culminate in a beautifully artistic plan?  Michelle decided to create an interactive and visually inspiring piece of artwork that viewers would invest in emotionally. This unique strategic plan is presented in the form of an accordion book that helps the viewer become a participant, therefore ensuring the plan will be a living, breathing document. Check out the plan here. 

Annemarie Guzy, Visual and Performing Arts Specialist at Riverside Unified School District, brought together a group of diverse community arts leaders to help define goals for the district Arts Plan. With the expert facilitation of Annemarie, the group brainstormed fresh, creative ideas to coordinate community and city resources with the district, connect professional artists with students, and develop possible ways to weave RUSD students into the arts community of Riverside. The California Alliance for Arts Education believes that working in this collaborative way – bringing leadership together from all different sectors - is a key element for a successful Strategic Arts Plan. The Alliance has captured this and other important practices in the Insider’s Guide for Arts Education Planning, produced in partnership with the Arts Education Collective. Learn more about Annemarie’s strategy and the arts planning process in Riverside here.