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2018

Otis Report on the Creative Economy
June 27, 2018

On May 22, 2018 the Otis College of Art & Design released the 2018 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of California. Data shown are from 2016, with projections out to 2021.

Why is this important to K-12 educators, parents and community members?

Because the so-called “jobs of tomorrow” are here today!  As students search for a path forward, having this kind of data makes a compelling case for pursuing education that prepares students for creative careers. 

 

The significant findings in the 2018 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of California include:

  • The Creative economy output totaled $407.1 billion in California
  • The creative economy generated 1.6 million jobs in California
  • 141.5 Billion in total labor income
  • The largest direct job counts in California’s creative sector were in:...
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How to Use Data in Arts Education Advocacy
May 23, 2018

The California Arts Education Data Project is powerful tool for anyone hoping to learn more about the access to and quality of arts education in their community. It was designed to help increase participation in arts education across the state. It was first piloted in New Jersey, where access to arts education has risen from 94% to 99.8%.

What information is included in the Data Project?

  • Participation rates for secondary school students in California
  • School-level, district, county and statewide data is displayed in an interactive, color-coded dashboard 

New this year:

  • Year-over-year comparison tools display changes in access over time
  • ...
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Conversation about Arts Advocacy on KVGC 1340 AM
April 26, 2018

Jessa Brie Moreno, Field Manager for the Alliance, and Meghan O'Keefe, Program Coordinator at the Amador County Arts Council, discuss topics such as the state education code, the creative economy, the Local Control Funding Formula, arts integration, and parent engagement in a recent radio interview. Listen to the full conversation at the links below.

Part I

Part II

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Forum with 2018 Candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction
April 26, 2018

On April 7, 2018, as part of the Arts Now Bay Area Summit, four students from schools across California, posed questions about arts education policy, equity and access at a Candidate Forum. The SPI of California is the nonpartisan elected executive officer of the California Department of Education. The SPI directs all functions of the Department, executes policies set by the California State Board of Education, and also heads and chairs the Board. View a recording of the full Candidate Forum below to learn about how each candidate plans to support arts education!

 

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How to use the Declaration of the Rights of All Students to Equity in Arts Learning in the Arts Planning Process
February 15, 2018

The Challenge: How to introduce the Declaration and Model Resolution as part of the arts planning process so that the ideas and principles of the Declarations can be fully embraced in the Arts Plan.

The Strategy: Bring the resolution into the planning process as a way to guide thinking and support adoption of the plan!

The Story: A number of districts have adopted the Declaration of the Rights of All Students to Equity in Arts Learning and/or a Resolution supporting the Declaration based on the model available on CREATE CA’s website.  In our blog post...

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There’s not enough time in the day! How to find time in the schedule for arts.
January 18, 2018

The Challenge: Middle and high school students simply don’t have time in their schedules for arts education courses

The Strategy: Adopt a master schedule that ensures that every student can take arts classes

The Story: Middle and high school students have many competing priorities that quickly fill their course schedules: in addition to core academic courses, Advanced Placement courses, instruction for English language learners, academic intervention, and special education instruction all can take up precious time in a student’s schedule. All too often, when school counselors create schedules that accommodate required courses and the unique academic circumstances of each student, arts courses—visual art, music, dance, theatre—get cut from student schedules because there simply is not enough time in the day. How can schools create more time in the schedule so that students have access to valuable arts education opportunities and are able to fulfill the "F" Requirement? The answer is not actually more time, but...

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Amador Adopts the Declaration of Rights of All Students to Equity in Arts Learning
January 16, 2018

The Challenge: How to Energize Support for Arts Education among your School Board, School Administration, and district Parents

The Strategy: Ask the School Board to Adopt the Declaration of the Rights of All Students to Equity in Arts Learning

The Story: The Amador Alliance for Arts Education, a local advocacy coalition working to increase access to the arts education, was looking for a way to gain visibility and inspire district leaders to take action. Faced with this challenge, the group turned to the Declaration of the Rights of All Students to Equity in Arts Learning.

The Declaration, a resource developed by CreateCA, expresses the belief that all California students deserve to have access to quality arts education to provide them with the skills they need to...

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2017

Student Advocacy Success Story by Xochitl Morales
December 21, 2017

Hi. My name is Xochitl Morales, and I am a 17-year-old high school student from a small town in the Central Valley. I go to a school in Delano that you may know as either Paramount Bard, Paramount Academy, or Wonderful College Preparatory Academy (what we are called now). When I first started going to my school in sixth grade, it was called Paramount Bard.

At that time, it had only existed for three years, but it proved to be a leader in the arts education scene. We had mariachi, choir, animation, visual design, and theater classes, as well as an entire block in our schedule dedicated to creating in any club we chose. We also had a collaboration with the prestigious Longy Conservatory of Music that allowed many of us to travel across the country to share what we were learning.

Our school was blossoming with passion and creativity.

However, four years later, after two name changes and several administration re-assignments, this was all gone. We were left with only one Art...

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Orcutt Union School District Uses Schedule Rotation to Support Music Education
November 30, 2017

The Challenge: How to deploy limited resources to serve high needs students and establish a sustainable elementary music program that serves every student

The Strategy: Create a schedule rotation of P.E., music and intervention to achieve smaller class size and arts instruction for all students 

The Story: The Orcutt Union School District, located in Santa Barbara county, includes five elementary schools, two middle schools, one K-8 school and two K-8 and one high school charter schools. Faced with the challenge of a tight budget and looking for a way to address the needs of a student population with a high number of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, the district needed to use their existing funds in a creative way. 

Leadership at The Orcutt Union School District came up with a strategy to tie together music instruction and intervention instruction in their district Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). The plan established new music classes taught by credentialed music teachers to decrease class size...

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Moreno Valley Unified School District Includes Students in Arts Planning Process
October 26, 2017

The Challenge: How to Get Student Input for District Arts Planning  

The Strategy: Invite Exceptional High School Seniors to Attend Arts Planning Meetings

The Story: Shania Carden, a high school senior in the Moreno Valley Unified School District, was never expecting to be invited to participate in the school district strategic arts planning process. “[It] was a surprise to me,” Shania explained, “but I was very eager to do so! I was very interested in being there to learn what was behind the scenes in the arts planning process.” 

She received this invitation because Greg Solomon, district Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Coordinator, understood the importance of including student voices in the process. “They are the only people who can describe what it is like to be in our arts classrooms,” he said. Greg identified students for the arts planning committee by reaching out to arts teachers in the district. He asked teachers to recommend seniors who could speak about their experiences in arts programs. As a four-year member, historian, and president of the Valley View High School Choir program...

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