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2016

Building and Engaging a Strong Leadership Team in Amador County
February 19, 2016
The Challenge: How to build a countywide effort to increase arts education  

The Strategy: Build a strong leadership team composed of cross sector partners (and keep them engaged)

The Story: The small county of Amador sits among the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. When the Amador Alliance for Arts Education launched, one of their challenges was bridging the county's geography to build a coordinated effort across county schools.
 
"We needed a strong leadership team that gathered leaders from several key stakeholder groups to create a unified effort that bridged the county's hilly geography," says Terra Forgette, Executive Director of AmadorArts and the lead for the Amador Alliance.

Under guided recommendations from the California Alliance for Arts Education, the Amador Alliance hosted a community breakfast in 2012...
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Theatre and Dance Act Introduced
February 11, 2016

UPDATE 6/22/16: The Assembly Education Committee voted unanimously to approve SB 916. The bill now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

UPDATE 6/1/16: SB 916 passed the Senate on May 31, 2016.

UPDATE 4/13/16: The general assembly of the California Teachers Association voted on Sunday, April 10 to support legislation by Senator Ben Allen (D-Los Angeles) that would create teaching credentials in the subjects of Dance and Theatre. Due to the dedicated advocacy of dance and theatre teachers, as well as colleagues from other disciplines, one of the historic barriers to establishing the credentials has been removed. Our advocacy campaign continues after the bill is heard in the Senate Education Committee on April 20. 

On January 27, 2016, Senator Ben Allen held a press conference to...

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Arts Education Strategies in California LCAPs
February 11, 2016

Join us for the release of Arts Education Strategies in California LCAPs.

The California Alliance for Arts Education, Arts for LA and Arts for All have partnered to provide new resources that demonstrate the ways that the arts can contribute to the State’s new priorities and in particular to the success of low-income students and English Language Learners. Arts Education Strategies in LCAPs gathers concrete examples of how districts are increasing access to arts education and implementing arts strategies to improve student outcomes in their Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAP) and shows an exciting range of arts strategies and metrics.

In the coming weeks and months, districts will be updating their Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAP) to determine priorities and funding for the coming years. The California Alliance and Arts for LA are working...

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2015

From Assessment to Arts Plan in Napa County
December 11, 2015

At this year’s Local Advocacy Retreat, local organizer Robin Hampton presented a breakout session featuring a case study of a countywide assessment of arts offerings, done by the Napa County Alliance for Arts Education - a local coalition made up of the Arts Council Napa Valley, the Napa County Office of Education, and over 50 Napa County educators, arts organizations, nonprofits, and community leaders.

The group’s extensive 360 Degree Assessment of arts education in Napa County aimed to identify the current landscape in relation to arts education assets the county already had, and also what it needed. 

Results from the assessment survey and further research conducted by task teams revealed certain strengths, such as numerous sustainable and award-winning arts programs at the high school level, as well as a common desire to collaborate in support of arts education. Gaps uncovered included a disconnect of communication between the sectors and a lack of awareness of...

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The Making of the Animated Video: Interview with Nevada Lane
December 11, 2015
The first installment of our Student Voices Visionary features Nevada Lane, whose drawing are featured in the animated Student Voices Intro video. We spoke to her by phone and asked about her vision for schools, what creativity means to her, and what it was like to draw with a camera recording her every move! 
 
What is creativity? Can you give an example of creativity in someone you know?  (It could be a friend, a relative, a public figure, or you)
 
Nevada: I’m going to take a different slant on it. We often think of creativity in the arts, and I think that’s beautiful and wonderful.  But what’s under recognized is the creativity people have when working with other people and how they’re able to create something out of bringing people together around collaborating and achieving a common outcome.  
 
For a practical example – young activists who can create networks of people and bring people together to have a conversation about and tackle issues like climate change, or gun control laws.  It’s a...
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CTC Reviewing New Teaching Performance Expectations
October 15, 2015
By Joe Landon
 
Earlier this year, the California Alliance for Arts Education submitted a policy brief, authored by Dr. Merryl Goldberg of California State University, San Marcos, which highlighted the role and value of arts integration in student learning, to be considered by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) in revising current Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs). TPEs are the foundation of what all licensed teachers should know and be able to demonstrate, and they provide an important basis for teacher preparation program curriculum and fieldwork experiences.

The Commission is currently reviewing new TPEs, which now mention the arts and arts integration as a focus area to support teaching and learning. Among the significant changes, the new TPEs...
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New Policy Paper on the Arts and Equity
October 15, 2015
By Joe Landon
 
The Alliance has released a new policy paper titled “At the Crossroads of the Arts and Equity.” The paper underscores the Alliance’s commitment to its goal of every California student receiving access to high-quality arts education. That commitment has informed our efforts to promote Title I funds being used for arts education strategies to support Title I goals, our focus on arts education as an effective strategy within the goals of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), and our work to articulate and promote arts integration throughout the curriculum. 

Excerpt from “At the Crossroads of the Arts and Equity” :

“All children deserve an education that inspires them to discover, to engage deeply, to think creatively, to hone their passion and skill, and to apply that skill in the real world.”...

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What Works in Letters to Elected Officials
October 1, 2015
By Kathryn Arnett
 
I have written many letters to elected representatives in my life. But while interning at the California State Capitol one summer, I had the chance to be on the other side reading those letters. Seeing the hundreds of emails and mailed letters that come to a State Senator on any given day, I learned what kinds of letters are most effective and influence representatives most. 

When I was interning at the Capitol, there was talk that the education budget would get a major overhaul—and potentially receive much more funding than in recent years. So, we saw a lot of letters come in asking the legislature to invest more in education. Many came in bulk, and those I do not remember. The letters that stood out to me, and to my boss and the staff, were personalized. 

I remember one letter in particular from a concerned mother with a son in elementary school in Los Angeles. She shared the story of how cuts to the budget had affected her and her child. He was less engaged in school because classes like Physical Education had been cut. When she walked through his...
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Get the Student Voices Classroom Guide
July 24, 2015

The Student Voices Campaign (SVC) invites young people to create videos that show their creativity and passion for the arts and share them with elected officials. 

California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) guarantees students a voice in planning and budgeting for their school district.  SVC provides a pathway for students to realize the role envisioned for them in LCFF community engagement guidelines. 
 
With support from the California Arts Council, this fall, the California Alliance for Arts Education will release the Student Voices Classroom Guide and we are looking for teachers grades 7–12 to use it in their classrooms during the 2015–16 school year. The lessons can be scaled to unfold over two weeks or to be pursued more deeply over several months.  

The guide will equip teachers to use the campaign as project-based learning opportunity that offers students a real-world opportunity to author content, communicate creatively and practice civic engagement. The lessons will u...
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Anaheim: Arts Education & Student Success Go Hand in Hand
May 14, 2015

This week, Anaheim Unified High School was chosen as a Gold Ribbon School for demonstrating exemplary achievements in implementing California’s academic content standards and, the district also received recognition for having an “Exemplary Program in Arts Education, Career Technical Education, or Physical Activity and Nutrition.” According to Shanin Zeimer, a parent, PTA member and local organizer for our Local Advocacy Network, the district has a strong commitment to the visual and performing arts that goes hand in hand with overall student success.

Numerous research studies suggest a correlation between access to high quality arts education and student success. Student involvement in the arts is linked to higher academic performance, increased standardized test scores, greater involvement in community service and lower dropout rates.[i]

So how can community members work to build a high quality arts program in their district? Shanin Zeimer and Pat Wayne,...

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