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2015

How SF Arts Advocates Leveraged Support for Ballot Measure
January 8, 2015

How SF Arts Advocates Leveraged Support for Ballot Measure

Challenge: Persuade city officials to introduce and support a ballot initiative to fund arts education, libraries and sports.  

Strategy: The San Francisco Alliance for Arts Education authored a white paper that decision-makers clear, sound arguments for amending a funding policy and putting it on the November 2014 ballot.

Story:

San Francisco’s PEEF (Public Education Enrichment Fund), which for years had protected funding for physical education, libraries and arts education in San Francisco public schools seemed to be on the back burner, despite the fact that it was set to sunset at the end of the year. With careful planning, research and plenty of lead time, the San Francisco Alliance for Arts Education (SFAAE) succeeded in getting a ballot measure passed reauthorizing PEEF and securing funding for programs that historically have been vulnerable to budget reduction or elimination in difficult economic times.

1. Gather Input...

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CREATE California Statewide Convening
January 6, 2015

CREATE CA January 30 & 31

We’re kicking off 2015 with a statewide convening of CREATE California to ignite collective impact and expand arts and creativity in California schools. Join us in Oakland on January 30 & 31, 2015 for workshop sessions, policy briefings and conversations to open up new opportunities for collaboration. We will be joined by Governor Jerry Brown, Apple University’s Randy Nelson, as well as students from the Oakland School for the Arts and the San Francisco Student Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble.

What is CREATE CA?

CREATE CA (Core Reforms Engaging Arts to Educate) is a unique statewide coalition of agencies, organizations and individuals partnering on an education reform movement that views arts education as an essential part of the solution to the problems facing California schools. Using a model of “collective impact,” CREATE CA is led by five leadership organizations and five individual elected members from the field. It is a model that has garnered interest from advocates in other states.

How is CREATE CA different than...

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2014

Webinar: Local Arts Education Advocacy 2015
December 2, 2014

In January, local school boards will begin drafting plans and making budget allocations for the coming years. This free one-hour webinar on Tuesday, December 9th at 12:00pm PT, will outline effective ways to be an agent for positive change in your school district. Find out what's in your district's Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), why it matters and how arts education can help students and schools succeed. Panelists will share their experience with how to:

·      Seize opportunities to impact district planning

·      Understand what’s in a district LCAP

·      Work with a district superintendent

·      Influence a local school board

Panelists include:

·      Sarah Brothers, the Arts Education Manager for the Arts Council Santa Cruz County

·      Jenna Hartzell, Executive Director for Arts Obispo

·      Pat Wayne, Deputy Director, Arts Orange County

Register today: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/...

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LCAP Success Story in Santa Cruz
November 25, 2014

The Challenge: How to increase access to arts education in a large district with limited opportunities for arts.

The Strategy: Bring solutions to your local school board.

The Story: The Santa Cruz County Alliance for Arts Education, launched in 2012, has an ambitious goal - to advocate for arts education for all students in every school community in Santa Cruz County. They began their work by focusing on the county’s largest district, which had very limited arts education offerings.  The Santa Cruz Alliance knew that their best chance to make an impact within the district was to advocate for the inclusion of arts in that district’s new Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAP).


“We did so by building relationships with school board members, coordinating presenting materials at school board meetings and town hall planning sessions, defining a clear and appropriate ask, and following up and celebrating the progress made,” says Sarah Brothers, the Arts Education Manager for the Arts Council Santa Cruz County and leader for the Santa Cruz County Alliance for Arts...
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Why Congratulate New Candidates?
November 10, 2014
 
With the passage of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), local school boards have been given authority to set the priorities and funding allocations for their districts, which makes building relationships with your local school board members more important that ever. 
 
Now that the elections are over, a great way to start a relationship with the winning candidate is to write her or him a congratulations letter. It doesn’t matter who you voted for, now is the time to reach out and start building bridges to ensure supporting arts education is a part of their plans. A congratulations letter is a good way to let your voice be heard while starting off on a positive note.
 

First look up which candidates won here. You should be able to find your candidate’s contact information on your local County Office of Election website. 
 
There is a draft of a letter at the end of this blog post, feel free to personalize it, keeping the following things in mind: 
 
•...
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The How and Why of Countywide Assessment in Napa
October 7, 2014

The Challenge: How do you set goals for a countywide advocacy effort with multiple partners and stakeholders?

The Strategy: Start with a countywide assessment to determine what arts education assets the county has and what is needs.

The Story: In December 2013 Arts Council Napa Valley, along with the Napa County Office of Education and the California Alliance for Arts Education, convened with more than 50 Napa County educators, arts organizations, nonprofits, and community leaders at an early morning breakfast to garner support for arts education in Napa County schools, launching the Napa County Alliance for Arts Education (NCAAE).  There was clear support within the group to work together to increase access to arts education in the county. The question was how. In a county with five school districts and 51 schools with a variety of needs, stakeholders and delivery systems, there was not a simple or obvious goal for their shared work.

Feedback from attendees indicated that the county had considerable...

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District LCAPs show investment in arts education
August 4, 2014

The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), passed last year, offers a historic opportunity for school districts to set new, locally driven goals aimed at improving outcomes for students who are often underserved in public schools.

Responding to this shift, the Alliance created a toolkit of materials, which connect documented impacts of arts education to the law’s eight new priorities. Working with our Policy Council, Local Advocacy Network and through partnerships with the California State PTA, Arts for All, Arts for LA, California School Boards Association, Nick Rail Music, Families in Schools and Ed Trust-West, we were able to engage hundreds of community members who:

  • Made school board presentations in 30 school districts
  • Served on district advisory committees
  • Provided written feedback or public comment on their district’s draft LCAP plan

We are now in the process of gathering district Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs) from the advocates and districts we worked with this...

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Alliance Joins LCAP Watch
June 25, 2014

The California Alliance for Arts Education is proud to partner with Education Trust-West on LCAP Watch, an effort aimed at creating public transparency into school district plans and budgets. It will gather completed LCAPs in a central location online to facilitate analysis, monitoring and accountability around these plans.

According to Education Trust-West,

“When Governor Jerry Brown dramatically reformed school funding in 2013, he also required that school districts engage in an open, transparent, and public budgeting and planning process. A central component of this is the Local Control and Accountability Plan, or LCAP. The LCAP is the district’s 3-year plan for how it will use state funding to serve all students, including low-income students, English learners, and foster youth.

In the LCAP, the district presents its goals, actions, and expenditures. The district must describe what needs each goal addresses and the metrics being used to measure progress. After 2014-15, districts will report how the actions presented in the...

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Increase Arts Funding for California
June 2, 2014

 

 



 
 
 
 
 
 
The State Legislative Budget Conference Committee will meet tomorrow to discuss the increase in state arts funding that was recommended by the Assembly earlier this month. This is first chance in over a decade to restore funding for the arts in our state! Please send a letter by end of day today.

Visit the Californians for the Arts website for a template and more information. Personalised letter are the most effective. Below are two sample letters sent my the California Alliance for Arts Education. 

Sample Organizational Letter: Download here. 

Sample Personal Letter: Below

...

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Santa Barbara Advocates Respond to District LCAP
May 29, 2014

 

As part of the new Local Control Funding Formula, every school district in California is required to release a draft Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) and invite public feedback before plans are finalized on June 30.
Members of the newly formed Santa Barbara Alliance for Arts Education (SBAEA) wrote a joint feedback letter in response to SBUSD’s draft LCAP plan. Then members of the group...
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