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The fourth "R" of education: promoting arts education in Los Angeles public schools
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The fourth "R" of education: promoting arts education in Los Angeles public schools
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THE FOURTH “R” OF EDUCATION: PROMOTING ARTS EDUCATION IN LOS ANGELES PUBLIC SCHOOLS by Hilda Yeghishian A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS (STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS) May 2010 Copyright 2010 Hilda Yeghishian ii Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................... iv Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................... 1 “No Child Left Behind”.......................................................................................... 4 Impacts of NCLB on Arts Education................................................................... 6 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................10 Endnotes ................................................................................................................11 Chapter 2: Defining the Arts................................................................................12 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................13 Endnotes ................................................................................................................15 Chapter 3: Patrons of Art Across the Centuries .............................................16 Modern Day Patronage........................................................................................17 Other Patrons........................................................................................................20 How Can Patronage Help ....................................................................................21 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................22 Endnotes ................................................................................................................23 Chapter 4: Children, The Arts & Future Benefits ...........................................24 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................29 Endnotes ................................................................................................................30 Chapter 5: Arts Education Standards vs. Arts Education Funding............31 Arts Education Funding in California ..............................................................33 Arts Education Crisis in Los Angeles...............................................................35 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................36 Endnotes ................................................................................................................38 Chapter 6: Arts for All ...........................................................................................39 The Catalyst...........................................................................................................40 Laying the Foundation ........................................................................................41 The Four Goals of Arts for All...........................................................................41 Implementation ....................................................................................................42 AEPI Report of 2008 ............................................................................................43 Figure 1: Five Success Factors ...........................................................................44 The 7 th Year............................................................................................................45 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................46 Endnotes ................................................................................................................47 Chapter 7: Arts for LA ...........................................................................................48 Arts for LA Partners with Arts for All .............................................................48 Arts for LA & LAUSD’s Pending Cuts in Arts Education ..............................51 iii Chapter Summary ................................................................................................52 Endnotes ................................................................................................................53 Chapter 8: Arts Education & Public Relations: Dos & Don’ts......................54 Bibliography .............................................................................................................57 Appendix: Resources .............................................................................................60 iv Abstract During a tough economic climate public schools are forced to make educational cuts due to the lack of governmental funding. Unfortunately for the arts education programs, they are usually the first to go in times of financial instability. In the past decade, Los Angeles County has launched various advocacy groups and created a comprehensive arts education blueprint with hopes of successfully rebuilding the deteriorating arts programs in its 81 school districts; however, the latest economic crisis is threatening the stability of arts education in Los Angeles once again. In the following thesis you will find: 1. An overview of the negative affects of the No Child Left Behind Act. 2. An overview of the importance of arts education in elementary schools. 3. A review of California’s arts education standards and how it conflicts with the current budget crisis. 4. An in-depth overview of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission’s Arts for All: Los Angeles County Blueprint for Arts Education. 5. Examples of support provided by advocacy groups such as Arts for LA and the Burbank Arts Education Foundation. 6. A list of best practices to consider when developing a public relations campaign to raise community awareness and funds for arts education in any community. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction “The visual arts thrive on the free expression of the imagination and the creative instinct common in all human beings. They have enabled us to explore the changing nature of our existence and to understand how that nature has evolved and yet, in some ways, has remained constant over time, culture and place.” —Dr. F. Robert Sabol, “No Child Left Behind: A Study of Its Impact on Arts Education” “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” These were the words of Pablo Picasso, one of the most influential artists of the 20 th century. However, nearly 100 years later our society is still struggling with the dilemma illustrated by Picasso in this quote. Currently in the United States, art advocates are trying to preserve the fundamental arts education programs that were once standard in public schools across the country. The preservation of these arts programs is beneficial for our children as they inspire them to remain creative thinkers in their futures, while still keeping them motivated and stimulated in the present. Regardless of whether this fundamental creativity is utilized in art or in life, it is essential for their development and ability to solve problems efficiently and effectively in all other facets of life. 2 Unfortunately, school districts across the nation are choosing to discontinue arts education programs in their schools due to the lack of funding by their state governments. When faced with a tapering budget, the districts have to make a decision of what goes and what stays—more often than not the two contenders placed on the chopping block are athletics and the arts. In the battle of the arts verses sports, sports have come out victorious time and time again while the arts have nearly been obliterated in the past two decades. This decision may be a political one—more parents and students will be offended by the removal of sports than they will be of the removal of the arts. On the other hand, the decision may be based on profits—sports have proven to garner more attention and more profits for schools than the arts, especially at the high school and college levels. However, it is important to note that preservation of sports is not the only reason why the arts continue to be cut from public schools; other factors play a major role in the ultimate decision. One major contributor to the problem is government-administered tests. In the past decade school districts have been required to pay closer attention to scores on standardized tests to prove that their students are reaching a certain level of proficiency in math and language arts. Therefore, school administrators have had to place greater emphasis, energy and allocate more money to creating curriculums that center around standardized tests rather than emphasizing a whole, well-rounded curriculum. In the August 2008 issue of the National Arts Education Association’s (NAEA) 3 newsletter, Advancing Arts Education the organization states, “Arts education has suffered severe cutbacks over the last several years. The No Child Left Behind Act’s emphasis on standardized tests along with city budget crises have sharply reduced the time available during the school day for arts courses and the number of arts teaching positions.” 1 Although standardized tests do not directly result in insufficient funding for the arts, they do influence school districts to make a decision regarding which programs are deemed important and which are deemed unimportant. The NAEA’s article, “New Study Reports on Revitalizing Arts Education in Six Urban Areas,” was influenced by the RAND Corporation’s study, “Revitalizing Arts Education Through Community-Wide Coordination,” which was conducted in 2008 in cooperation with the Wallace Foundation. The study evaluated six sites where public-private coordination has made it possible for more children to benefit from arts education. Los Angeles was one of the six sites evaluated. “The report found that each effort successfully placed an arts education coordinator within the central office of the school district. Rather than follow the traditional approach of hiring a teacher to serve as a part-time coordinator, the districts had a full-time coordinator. The coordinator’s responsibilities include advocating for arts education and ensuring its place in the school district’s core curriculum.” The study found that due to the budget crisis and the implications of the No Child Left Behind Act, it is more reasonable and effective for school districts to 4 hire full-time arts coordinators whose responsibilities would include advocating for the arts programs and making sure they are taught in compliance with the standards in the entire district rather than giving current faculty members additional work. “No Child Left Behind” In 2002, former President George W. Bush reauthorized the Elementary & Secondary Education Act of 1965 under a new name: The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The U.S. Department of Education states that NCLB is based on the following four basic principles 2 : • Stronger accountability for results • More freedom for states and communities • Proven education methods • More choices for parents According to Brian Crosby, a veteran high school teacher in Los Angeles and author of the book “Smart Kids, Bad Schools: 38 Ways to Save America’s Future,” it is because of NCLB that schools are having to place greater emphasis on these state enforced tests because as stated in the law, schools not meeting the standards are at risk of losing certain government grants. 3 It is because of NCLB that “teaching to the test,” a notion that was once taboo, now seems to be standard practice in public schools across the country. 5 “Whoever came up with this title to the federal government’s latest educational fix-all program should receive a medal. What an emotionally charged phrase, ‘no child left behind,’” Crosby writes. On the surface, the NCLB act seems to be for the common good; however, just underneath the surface, there lives a façade. By enacting NCLB the government is able to point to the law and say, “Look, we’re doing good. We’re protecting the American youth and making sure every child, no matter their race, religion or economic status is getting the education they deserve,” and the American public applauds, pats the government officials on the back and rests assured while their children continue to be pushed through a failing public education system. Editorial Projects in Education (EPE), a non-profit organization that publishes Education Week, published a summary of the NCLB Act. Within the summary, EPE explained the long-term goal of NCLB. “States must bring all students up to the ‘proficient’ level on state tests by the 2013-14 school year. Individual schools must meet state ‘adequate yearly progress’ targets toward this goal for both their student populations as a whole and for certain demographic subgroups,” the summary reports. “If a school receiving federal Title I funding fails to meet the target two years in a row, it must be provided technical assistance and its students must be offered a choice of other public schools to attend. Students in schools that fail to make adequate progress three years in a row must also be offered supplemental educational services, including private tutoring.” 4 6 In order to achieve 100 percent proficiency the government tests students in grades three through eight, plus one year from high school, in mathematics, reading and science. The law also suggests that all children are to be taught by a “highly qualified” instructor; however, it does not specify what constitutes “highly qualified.” Since schools that aren’t able to show 100 percent proficiency are at risk of losing certain government funds and are to be considered schools that are “in need of improvement,” administrators and educators begin teaching to the test while searching for loopholes in the law. One example that Crosby discusses is the liberal use of “highly qualified.” “Each state has come up with their own definition of ‘highly qualified,’ thus providing a wide array of meaning,” he writes. In California alone there are more than 10,000 teachers teaching while still working on obtaining their teaching credentials. “From their first day of teaching these interns are anointed as ‘highly qualified.’” Impacts of NCLB on Arts Educations Although the NCLB Act states that the arts should be a mandated subject area, there has not been a great push to include more arts education in schools. This may be because although it is considered a mandated subject area, there is no consequence for schools that are not providing a sufficient amount of arts education. According to the study Academic Atrophy: The Condition of the Liberal Arts in America’s Public Schools conducted by the Council for Basic Education in March 2004, “No Child Left Behind may well contribute to a 7 significant danger that has not received the attention it deserves: At a time when school budgets are under extraordinary stress, the exclusive focus of the law’s accountability provisions on mathematics, reading, and eventually science is diverting significant time and resources from other academic subjects.” The study, which was based on interviews with public school principals in Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico and New York, revealed both good news and bad news for America’s public education system. “The good news: We found strong evidence of growing commitment to mathematics, reading, writing, science, and secondary social studies. The bad news: We also saw ample evidence of waning commitment to the arts, foreign language, and elementary social studies. What’s more, we found that the greatest erosion of the curriculum is occurring in schools with high minority populations—the very populations whose access to such a curriculum has been historically most limited.” A similar study conducted by Dr. F. Robert Sabol of Purdue University surveyed arts educators across the country to find the impact that NCLB has on arts education. The study titled, “No Child Left Behind: A Study of Its Impact on Arts Education,” was supported and published by the National Arts Education Foundation in February 2010. In his research Dr. Sabol indicates that according to the U.S. Department of Education, “NCLB law stated that arts education should be included in the core of educational learning in all American schools.” However, also according to Dr. Sabol’s findings, “the Center for Educational Policy (2007), reported that as a result of NCLB, 62% of schools increased time for English by 46% and math by 37%. The report also stated that 44% of schools 8 cut time from art, music, physical education, social studies, lunch and recess at the elementary school level.” 5 Of the 3,412 people Dr. Sabol surveyed, 34% taught in elementary schools, 22% taught in middle schools, 32% taught in secondary schools and 7% taught in higher education. The following are the general attitudes of arts educators toward NCLB: • 67% felt that NCLB has not helped students in their programs become better learners. • 75% felt that the quality of their students work has not improved because of NCLB. • 89% felt that NCLB has had a negative impact on faculty morale. • 61% felt that NCLB has not made them a better teacher. • 73% felt that NCLB has had a negative affect on their attitude about being an art educator. • 54% felt that the quality of education in their schools has not improved because of NCLB. • 71% felt that NCLB has not had a positive affect on their art education programs. • 70% felt that the status of art education has not been improved by NCLB. Also according to Dr. Sadol’s study, NCLB has had a significantly negative affect on arts education in three areas: scheduling, workload and funding. The following reflects how NCLB has negatively affected arts education: 9 • 47% of subjects reported that their art schedules had increased interruptions, conflicts and problems. • 37% reported that their schedules became more complicated. • 63% of respondents reported budget cuts in the funds needed to purchase consumable supplies. • 34% reported cuts in budgets for instructional resources. • 4% of subjects reported that all funding for their art education programs had been cut. However, to blame the government’s pursuit of higher test scores (which translates into educational achievement) as the sole cause of the diminishing arts education programs is somewhat unfair. Under other circumstances higher test scores in math, English and the sciences would be absolutely marvelous. Nevertheless, it is the nature of the standardized tests and the government’s method of achieving and reporting the scores that is absolutely bizarre. Federal government overseers assume that by requiring higher scores on standardized tests they are also requiring a higher level of overall knowledge and intelligence, when, in fact, they are contributing to the collapse of a well-rounded educational system. State governments spend an average of $3.9 billion annually to develop, score and report NCLB-required tests, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. 6 These are the same states, such as California, that are hundreds of millions of dollars in deficit year after year and the same school districts that are being forced to eliminate arts education classes and educators due to insufficient funding. 10 Chapter Summary Standardized tests can be a useful tool of assessment when paired with other forms of assessments. Students can’t only be taught how to perform well on multiple-choice tests because in the real world no one is ever going to place a multiple-choice test in front of them and judge their intelligence based on the results. In most cases, after college no one is ever going to even ask them how they scored on those tests. The arts can be an educational tool that teachers can use to their advantage. By teaching tough concepts using visual arts, music, theatre and dance, teachers can keep students motivated and inspired. Although “art for art’s sake” is generally a good enough reason to practice it, government officials, parents and educators need to understand that practicing the arts isn’t just for art’s sake but rather a fun and inspiring educational tool. 11 Endnotes 1 "New Study Reports on Revitalizing Arts Education in Six Urban Areas." NAEA News Advancing Arts Education 50 (Aug. 2008): 1. National Arts Education Association. National Arts Education Association, Aug. 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. <http://www.arteducators.org/news/NAEANews_Aug08.pdf>. 2 Crosby, Brian. Smart Kids, Bad Schools: 38 Ways to save America's Future. New York: Thomas Dunne, 2008. Print. 3 "No Child Left Behind." Education Week. Ed. Christopher Swanson. Editorial Projects in Education, 21 Sept. 2004. Web. 14 Jan. 2010. <http://www.edweek.org/>. 4 Sabol, Robert. No Child Left Behind: A Study of Its Impact on Arts Education. Rep. National Arts Education Foundation, Feb. 2010. Web. Mar. 2010. <http://www.arteducators.org/research/NCLB_Proj_Report_2-10.pdf>. 5 United States. General Accounting Office. Title I Characteristics of Tests Will Influence Expenses; Information Sharing May Help States Realize Efficiencies. Comp. Sherri Doughty. By Jason Palmer. Washington, D.C., 2003. U.S. Government Accountability Office. May 2003. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. <http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03389.pdf>. 12 Chapter 2: Defining the Arts “Since their first appearance thousands of years ago, the arts have been evolving continually, exhibiting the ability of human beings to intuit, symbolize, think, and express themselves through dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. Each of the arts contains a distinct body of knowledge and skills that characterize the power of each to expand the perceptual, intellectual, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of human experience.” —Visual and Performing Arts Framework for California Public Schools Kindergarten through Grade Twelve To understand art is to understand that art—its definition and its qualities—are ever changing. However, the standard dictionary definition of art as stated on the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), art is “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” “The arts” as defined by the OED are “the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance.” 1 However, contrary to the dictionary definition, art is not only produced for its beauty or emotional power. Many artists produce artworks that have significance in their lives and in their cultures. Some artists produce art that 13 tell stories about their ancestral history, while others produce functional pieces that have artistic qualities. Some artwork is appreciated for its beauty by one culture but serves a purpose in another. Other artworks have religious connotations. For example, a tourist visiting St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City will gaze at the beautiful structure, the amazing paintings and the intricate sculptures in amazement; however, for the average tourist, Vatican City serves no purpose other than beauty. On the other hand, to a Catholic, Vatican City serves a much greater purpose. On the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Web site, Dr. Thomas Adajian states, “Definitions of art attempt to make sense of two different sorts of facts: art has important historically contingent cultural features, and it also, arguably, has trans-historical, trans-cultural characteristics that point in the direction of a relatively stable aesthetic core. Conventionalist definitions take art's cultural features to be explanatorily fundamental, and attempt to capture the phenomena in social/historical terms,” writes Dr. Adajian. “Non-conventionalist or ‘functionalist’ definitions reverse this explanatory order, taking a concept like the aesthetic as basic, and aim to account for the phenomena by working that concept harder, perhaps extending it to non-perceptual properties.” 2 Chapter Summary With varying definitions—some very direct while others open-ended—art can be best defined as a creation of one’s imagination; art can be a performance by an actor or the script written by a playwright; it can be the musicians in the 14 orchestra who perform in the pit or the artists who create the backdrop of the stage. Artists are dancers, actors, writers, painters, sculptors, musicians, poets; they use movement, expressions, words, oil, acrylic, clay, violins, pianos, flutes; Artists tell stories, stories about anything they desire. And, lastly, art enthusiasts understand and appreciate all genres of art—both old and new— because they are able to see the transformation of the art, as well as the transformation of the society in which the art is created, over time. 15 Endnotes 1 Adajian, Thomas. "The Definition of Art." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, 23 Oct. 2007. Web. 19 Dec. 2009. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/art-definition/>. 16 Chapter 3: Patrons of Art Across the Centuries “You know, I often say that I might not have been President if it hadn’t been for school music.” —Bill Clinton, former president Patrons are those who supported the arts and the artists financially. Prior to the Italian Renaissance, the Catholic Church was one of the greatest art patrons of the time. During the Italian Renaissance the nobility began to also have a great influence in the art community. Dr. Peter Barnett, painter and art historian, discussed the transition of patronage on his blog, Art in History. The post titled, “Famous Patrons and their Influence, Pope Julius II,” explains how Pope Julius II commanded Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, a work of art that is not only recognized worldwide but also most universally viewed as Michelangelo’s greatest accomplishment. According to Dr. Barnett, Michelangelo’s greatest passion was sculpting and at the time he had been commissioned by Lorenzo de’ Medici, one of the greatest art patrons in Italy of the time, to create the Medici Tomb, but Pope Julius II couldn’t allow his rival to secure one of the greatest artists of their time and therefore, he commanded Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel instead, thereby spiting Lorenzo. 1 Given the circumstances, one is left to wonder if the patrons of the past helped or hindered the art community? 17 Modern Day Patronage To keep the arts alive in the future we need to acknowledge the patrons of today. We need to know who they are; how we can maximize their helpfulness; and are they helping nurture the arts and artists or are they contributing to the loss of the artist’s creative interpretation. Some modern-day patrons in Los Angeles include museums and art organizations such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), The Getty, the Skirball Cultural Center and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil). These arts organizations offer the community not only a place to view the arts, but they also provide a place to learn about the arts. LA Phil, for example, collects grants and donations to support education and community programs such as: • LA Phil in Schools • LA Phil in Communities • Neighborhood Concerts • Youth Concerts • Instrumental Competitions • Professional Development Similarly, LACMA also has a variety of community arts education programs available for its surrounding community and school districts. However, one specific program stands out among the rest. In 2005 when LACMA received an endowment of $23.9 million—the 18 largest in its history—administrators chose to develop LACMA On-Site, a program committed to investing $1 million a year into the community and schools in Los Angeles’ District 4. This specific area of Los Angeles contains a student population the size of the entire Boston public school system. “In developing this program, I was just as interested in creating meaningful experiences centered on our collection here at LACMA as I was in demonstrating that we can make a measurable difference through teaching from works of art,” said Jane Burrell, Vice President of Education and Public Programs, in blog titled “Measuring Arts Education, Part I” on Unframed, the organization’s official blog. “Working from a California Standards-based curriculum designed by our education staff, teaching artists introduce lessons that include talking about and looking at images of art from the collection, in addition to making art. The focus is also on big ideas: ‘How artists use their work to share experiences or communicate ideas,’ ‘How art plays a role in reflecting life,’ or ‘The role of a work of art created to make a social comment.’” 2 Following the development of this initiative, in 2008/2009 LAMCA also developed an evaluation methodology in order to track the progress—or lack thereof—of their efforts. Administrators conducted an 11-month evaluation comprised of qualitative and quantitative research including interviews with students, parents, principals and librarians, as well as, teacher evaluations, teacher focus groups, teaching artist observations, self-reflections and data collection. “The evaluation studied 400 classroom workshops at seven elementary schools and four middle schools (reaching 8,649 students and resulting in 51,894 contact hours for the students), 570 workshops at libraries (reaching 6,367 children and adults for 12,734 19 contact hours), and professional development sessions for 378 teachers to support student learning in the arts,” reported Elizabeth Gerber, Manager of School & Teacher Programs, in “Measuring Arts Education, Part II.” 3 As a result of the evaluation LACMA complied six key findings: 1. “The program makes a positive impact in language development for participants. Students are using art vocabulary and noting details in their language, and are able to express themselves using descriptive language…teachers report that students’ use of descriptive language continues beyond the art workshops.” 2. “Participants are using and exploring a range of new art materials not readily available to them, including collage, watercolor painting, oil pastel, and clay. Students and families are learning and applying specific skills and techniques related to these art media, which expands their understandings of those techniques and materials.” 3. “Program participants overwhelmingly find personal and meaningful connections between their own lives and LACMA’s permanent collection as seen in their artwork. In particular, teens engage in library workshops because the content is relevant to their lives and families and librarians relate to concepts that resonate with their communities. 20 4. “The program content resonates with participants and administrators. In the schools, students and teachers relate that they are using LACMA arts curriculum for further development of critical thinking skills and other core academic areas.” 5. “Classroom teachers, school administrators, librarians, and parents place a high value on the program and desire to continue the experience.” 6. “The evaluation also documents a well-known, but sometimes overlooked, aspect of arts education: arts learning provides English Language Learners, students falling behind in traditional classroom settings, and students with special needs with opportunities to excel and often exceed their teacher’s expectations.” The key findings listed above were outlined on LAMCA’s Web blog, Unframed, in its third installment of the Measuring Arts Education series. 4 Other Patrons Ideally, the real modern-day patron of the arts should be the public schools our children attend. Although the arts do not always have a direct function in the core subjects taught in schools, they can be made functional and manipulated to teach other subjects. For example, although the arts are not always related to science, they can help teach science. Although they do not always have mathematical or historical components, they can also be used to teach math and 21 history. The arts are about interpretation and imagination; they help artists tell stories—stories about their society, their surroundings, their history, their theories and their lives. They use colors, lyrics, music, movements and words as their means of expression. In the same manner and using the same tactics they teach children about their life, their history, their surroundings, their friends, and most importantly, they can teach children how to express themselves and how to take an objective and subjective stance on life. How Can Patronage Help Regardless of how we define art, or who the patrons are, or even how we choose to incorporate art into our own lives—one area where the majority of the public does agree is that we need to teach art to our youth to raise well-rounded, literate, creative and expressive children who grow up to thrive in every other aspect of their futures. However, no amount of agreement has yet changed the fact that year after year the state of California has been forced to cut the public education funding, and, in turn, arts education. In response to nearly two decades of no arts education programs, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) took the first steps in hopes of improving a failed system. In 1999 LAUSD implemented a 10-year plan to restore arts education programs within its district. In 2002, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission followed suit; the arts advocacy group created the Arts for All: Los Angeles County Blueprint for Arts Education, which plans to bring change to all 81 school districts in Los Angeles. 22 The following chapters will review the developmental benefits of arts education at the elementary level; the public education budget in the state of California, specifically the amount of funding provided for arts education by the state government; the influence of the Arts for All blueprint in Los Angeles; other city- based advocacy organizations and their influences; and finally, how to utilize public relations and continue to effectively promote and influence arts education one city at a time. Chapter Summary Just like the arts, the patrons of the arts are also always changing. However, if schools and educators were to permanently adopt the arts and become constant supporters of the industry, we would be able to ensure that the practice and the understanding of the arts will not whittle away. Patrons are an important part of maintaining the arts; without the consistent support of the patrons—who ever they may be—we cannot guarantee that the arts will continue to be created, understood and maintained in a significant manner. 23 Endnotes 1 Barnett, Peter. "Famous Patrons and their Influence, Pope Julius II." Web log post. Art in History. Art ID, 17 Oct. 2007. Web. 28 Dec. 2009. <http://artid.com/members/art_in_history/blog/post/164-famous-patrons-and- their-influence-pope-julius-ii?SES=0e536c837683dd88086/>. 2 Burrell, Jane. "Measuring Arts Education, Part I." Web Log post. Unframed. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 24 Feb. 2010. Web. 03 Mar. 2010. <http://lacma.wordpress.com/>. 3 Gerber, Elizabeth. "Measuring Arts Education, Part II." Web Log post. Unframed. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 02 Mar. 2010. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. <http://lacma.wordpress.com/>. 4 Gerber, Elizabeth. "Measuring Arts Education, Part III." Web Log post. Unframed. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 18 Mar. 2010. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. <http://lacma.wordpress.com/>. 24 Chapter 4: Children, The Arts & Future Benefits “Educators are so focused on the minds of young people we are starving their hearts.” —Brian Crosby, “Smart Kids, Bad Schools” Nearly every study related to arts education indicates that the arts have the potential to lead to better grades, higher test scores and a better, more rounded educational system. Furthermore, according to the Burbank Arts Education Foundation (BAEF), a 2005 Harris Poll reported that 93 percent of Americans believe the arts are vital to providing a well-rounded education. 1 Nevertheless, it seems like every year our schools are dedicating less and less time to this fundamental area of study. City, county and state level organizations and advocacy groups are stepping up to improve the arts education programs across the country. Some examples in Los Angeles include the previously mentioned art museums such as the LACMA and The Getty, the BAEF, Arts for LA and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. A complete list of arts resources can be found in Appendix: Resources. 25 Statistics continue to confirm that increased participation in the arts also increases academic achievement. According to Arts for LA, “A 2008 study by the non-profit organization the Education Commission of the States concludes that arts can play a critical role in improving the academic performance of students. In a national sample of 25,000 students, those students ‘with high levels of arts-learning experiences earned higher grades and scored better on standardized tests than those with little or no involvement in the arts-regardless of socioeconomic status. Learning through the arts also appears to have significant effects on learning in other disciplines, with ‘students consistently involved in theater and music showing higher levels of success in math and reading.’” 2 The following study conducted by Stanford University and Carnegie Foundation For the Advancement of Teaching 3 found that students who participate in art are: 1. Four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement 2. Three times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools 3. Four times more likely to participate in a math and science fair 4. Three times more likely to win a school attendance award 5. Participate in youth groups nearly four times as frequently 6. Read for pleasure nearly twice as often 7. Perform community service more than four times as often 26 Although studies like the ones referenced above have been commissioned by various arts advocacy groups across the nation for years and have proven that the arts—when taught effectively—have a significant influence on a child’s development and academic achievement, there is still need to understand why this relationship exists. The following list is a compilation of some the most important correlations between the processes and the results: 1. Literacy: The arts expand a child’s understanding and communication skills. Understanding, interpreting and participating in the arts enhances literacy when accompanied with the basics—reading and writing. “Literacy needs to be redefined to include all means people use to understand, respond to, and express thoughts and feelings.” 4 By learning the arts children are essentially learning another language. 2. Culture: When learning the arts, children learn about various cultures and histories. They’re then able to also understand how those cultures differ from one another and change over time. Therefore, children do not only learn how to create art but they also learn about art and why it is created. 3. Long-Term Goals: By studying the arts, children gain an understanding of long-term goals and the importance of practice; children begin to understand that practice is necessary if they desire better results. According to Stephanie Perrin, former head of Walnut Hill, a private 27 school in Massachusetts that specializes in the arts, “The young musician has usually begun her study by the age of 7 or 8; at 15, is looking forward to a lifetime of increasing mastery. She understands that learning is a lifelong process and not something that is done on the day she gets her diploma...Mastery comes with hard work and practice” 5 4. Hands-On Learning Opportunity: Generally speaking, in public schools children don’t have many opportunities for hands on learning; it is not often that students get to personally experience how and why something is the way it is—more often than not children are only being lectured to. Teaching the arts opens up a whole new learning opportunity for children and educators. Kinetic leaning is learning by doing—with this methodology in mind, educators can teach children to participate in there own learning process. In that regard, when the arts are incorporated into the basic curriculum they enhance the process and engage the students. 5. Creativity: Arts education teaches children to take risks and learn from mistakes. By participating in the arts, children are forced to think creatively while solving problems effectively. Without creative thinking we would not have many of the new technologies available today and many of the successful corporations that surround us would have failed—or never have existed. Therefore, the arts give students an opportunity to develop a sense of personal judgment without having life- altering consequences. Students practice, make mistakes, learn from 28 mistakes and eventually perfect the outcome. They are able to interpret a message/image anyway they wish and then asked to explain/defend their interpretation. Unlike in other courses where the student’s creativity and judgment is limited by reality, when creating art children are able to make choices without having to abide by the rules of realism. 6. Group Work: While practicing the arts children have the opportunity to work in groups. Public education today generally focuses on individual work but when studying/practicing the arts children are forced to work in groups. Perrin writes, “Playing in a small ensemble is one of the best possible ways to learn how to work with others. It requires listening, responding, and asserting your own voice while supporting the voices of your fellow members, in a way that contributes to the beauty of the whole.” 7. Self-Esteem: Participating in the arts helps children build confidence. Whether is it is by painting, creating music or performing in the school play, children who are given the opportunity to create art reap the benefits of great self-confidence in themselves and their artwork. Overall, the greatest and most important benefit of the arts is that they help children become creative thinkers. Contrary to what some may believe, the arts are not only beneficial for the artistically inclined children but rather for all children. In a city like Los Angeles where the arts are the bread and butter of 29 the economy and creativity is the key to success in all industries, employers are looking for creative thinkers to help enhance their businesses. According to a survey conducted by Arts for L.A., “85 percent of surveyed business executives indicated that they are currently having difficulty recruiting individuals who possess creative ability, with demand for creative people expected to grow as firms pursue innovation.” 2 Therefore, instilling our children with the creative thinking capabilities in elementary schools can potentially help them in the long run when they are searching for a career after college. Chapter Summary When policymakers are considering cutting the arts education programs in their local communities they should first consider the positive effects the arts have on not only their child’s future but also on their communities prosperity. Although it is sometimes difficult to see the future when the present is so murky, it is important to consider the positive and negative effects of any decision. When specifically considering the importance of an arts education, we can clearly see that the arts have many immensely positive side effects on a child’s development and they have the potential to also help a struggling community grow and prosper as a result of the intelligent, creative and well- rounded individuals who graduate from their communities and enter the competitive job market. 30 Endnotes 1 Burbank Arts Education Foundation. Help Us Revitalize Arts Education For All in Burbank Schools. Burbank: Burbank Arts Education Foundation, [c. 2008]. Print 2 "Why Do Students Need Arts?" Arts for LA. Ed. A. Flanagan. LAUSD Arts Education Branch, 2009. Web. 8 Jan. 2010. <http://www.artsforla.org/whyartsed>. 3 Heath, Shirley B., Elizabeth Soep, and Adelema Roach. "Living the Arts through Language Learning: A Report on Community-based Youth Organizations." Monographs 2 (Nov. 1998): 3. Americans for the Arts. Web. 20 Jan. 2010. 4 <http://www.AmericansForTheArts.org/information_services/arts_education_co mmunity/>. 5 Cornett, Claudia E. Creating Meaning through Literature and the Arts: an Integration Resource for Classroom Teachers. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, 2007. Print. 6 Perrin, Stephanie. "Arts Are Nice, But..." New Horizons for Learning. 1997. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/arts/cabc/perrin1.htm 31 Chapter 5: Arts Education Standards vs. Arts Education Funding “These young people don’t just become accomplished singers and painters and authors. They also become better students, they become better leaders and they become better citizens, enriching not just themselves but their communities.” —First Lady Michelle Obama L.A. Now, Los Angeles Times Blog In 2001 the California State Board of Education adopted a set of statewide standards for the visual and performing arts (VAPA) curriculum in public schools from pre-kindergarten though grade 12. Following the adoption of the VAPA Content Standards, in 2004 the Board of Education also adopted the VAPA Framework, which is meant to provide supplemental support and a means of incorporating and/or creating a VAPA standard-based curriculum in classrooms. The adoption of the VAPA Content Standards and Framework should have been a cause for a big celebration in the arts community; however, the victory proved to be minuscule in the broad scope of things. What quickly became apparent was that the standards were merely for show; there was no form of funding applied to the implementation of the standards, no one actually had to follow them and there would be no form of evaluation to monitor their implementation. According to the VAPA Content Standards for California Public 32 Schools Pre-Kindergarten through Grade Twelve, “These standards were developed in response to Senate Bill 1390, signed by Governor Gray Davis in September 2000. The bill calls for the adoption of visual and performing arts content standards by the California State Board of Education and states that instruction in the visual and performing arts should be made available to all students. However, as with standards in other curriculum areas, the bill does not require schools to follow the content standards. Nothing in the bill mandates an assessment of pupils in the visual and performing arts.” The VAPA Content Standards are a great tool for schools to use when teaching the arts to students. The standards are formatted in an easy-to-understand manner, dividing each of the disciplines (Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Art) into separate categories and then further dividing them by grade level and five visual and performing arts strands: artistic perception, creative expression, historical and cultural context, aesthetic valuing and connections, relations and applications. The standards dictate where students in each grade level should be as far as understanding of the arts and ability to perform. Furthermore, the VAPA Framework added more value to the arts education standards by giving educators additional tools to develop and integrate arts education within their curriculum. However, this well-conceived and meaningful tool of education is completely devalued by not mandating its enforcement and giving it monetary backing it 33 deserves. Ideally, in the future the VAPA Standards will not only be in place in theory but also in law; nonetheless, for now advocates need to first figure out how to retain arts education funding. Arts Education Funding in California In the summer of 2006, the California Department of Education approved the allocation of two groups of categorical aid dedicated to help stabilize and continue to build arts education programs statewide. The first of the two categorical funds was the Arts, Music, and Physical Education grant. It was a one-time grant that is to be used to solely fund supplies, equipment and professional development as they pertain to the visual and performing arts and physical education. The state approved a $500 million grant that was to be divided in equal amounts per unit based on the average daily attendance. No district received less than $2,500 per school site. 1 L.A. County received a grand total of $752,704 of the $500 million. The second categorical aid was the Arts & Music Block Grant, which was meant to fund the implementation of the state’s visual and performing arts standards for instruction in kindergarten and grades one through twelve. “The funding is to supplement existing resources for arts and music, and may be used for professional development of generalist teachers, arts specialists, and administrators. It may also be used for hiring of new teachers or visual and performing arts coordinators; evaluating school arts education programs; 34 creating district arts education plans; and purchasing newly adopted instructional materials for arts and music. 2 The Arts & Music Block Grant was not a one-time grant; in the 2006-2007 academic school year California allocated a total of $105 million—$127,936 of which was allocated specifically to schools within L.A. County. “Funding is allocated on a per pupil basis with a minimum of $2,500 for school sites with 20 or fewer students and a minimum of $4,000 per school site with more than 20 students.” However, during the 2009-2010 school year that $105 million dropped to $87.9 million and changed from a restricted categorical fund into a flexible fund—as did the remaining funds from the Arts, Music, and Physical Education one-time grant. This meant that although the money was originally earmarked only for the implementation of the arts programs, school administrators now can choose to spend the money elsewhere if they feel the need for it. The decrease in funding was not only restricted to the arts—other programs and former necessities also were cut from the education budget. This diminishing budget doesn’t bode well for the arts programs. Obviously just as they are losing total control of their funding so are other education programs that are more commonly deemed important. To fill the gaps the government is leaving the districts are forced to tap into the specific arts grants and scramble for other funding sources. 35 Arts Education Crisis in Los Angeles “In 1999, the [LAUSD] board unanimously approved a resolution that promised to reinstate dance, theater, music and visual arts classes for all students, at all grade levels, in all schools,” reported Connie Llanos of the Daily Breeze. “The push came after nearly two decades of limited funding for arts education after Proposition 13 was approved in 1978 and seriously restricted revenue from property taxes. When funding for schools was depleted, arts programs—seen as luxuries—were the first to go.” Today, 11 years after LAUSD plunged to the forefront of the arts education crisis, the district is facing the same issues that it was originally trying to improve. LAUSD is faced with a $470 million deficit for the upcoming 2010- 2011 school year; therefore, in attempt to cut costs the district has proposed eliminating half of the 350 arts specialists currently employed in the district’s elementary schools. Furthermore, they propose eliminating the remaining specialists during the following academic year. Basically, LAUSD—the school district that influenced the creation and implementation of the Arts for All blueprint —is now planning on annihilating its arts education programs completely. “The LAUSD has been gradually whittling away its arts education programs. In late 2008, the board suspended the Arts Community Partnership Network, which brought professional arts groups into the schools to collaborate on instruction,” reported David Ng of the Los Angeles Times. 36 By eliminating all 350 arts specialists from all of their elementary school LAUSD will save a grand total of $29.8 million—a remaining balance of $440.2 million is left to make up from somewhere else. So what are some of LAUSD’s other considerations? Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines is considering shortening the school year. Quite ironically, a message released by Cortines on the LAUSD website reads: The New Year provides an opportunity to reflect on our true mission: to create a better future for the students and families we serve. Improving our schools is both challenging and rewarding, and I am confident that we are on the right track to make positive and dramatic changes in 2010. In response to the proposed cuts Arts for LA is “organizing a letter-writing campaign in which they hope to send 700 letters to LAUSD board members. It is also seeking the support of major L.A. museums and performing arts institutions to adopt a resolution to send to the board,” the Los Angeles Times reports. Chapter Summary If Arts for LA’s letter writing campaign is successful, the result will be a phenomenal for the district’s elementary students and arts educators. By keeping the positions of 350 arts educators, LAUSD will essentially be admitting that the arts are important and are worth fighting for; however, if the budget deficit has any say in the matter—which it definitely will—the chances are bleak for arts programs. With any luck at all, the board will only eliminate some of 37 the arts educators and temporarily suspended the rest while advocates and school board members search for alternative sources of funding by the 2011- 2012 academic year. It’s a shame that after a decade of hard work and determination LAUSD is willing to easily give up its hard-earned arts education programs. It’s especially discouraging that the arts programs are going to be taken away even though grants like the Arts, Music, and Physical Education grant and the Arts & Music Block grant exist. These grants that were once categorical grants, which meant that they were only to be used for the arts and physical education programs, shouldn’t be taken away from the arts programs that are in dire need of them. 38 Endnotes 1 "Arts, Music, and Physical Education." California Department of Education. California Department of Education, 28 Jan. 2008. Web. 26 Jan. 2010. 2 "Arts and Music Block Grant." California Department of Education. California Department of Education, 25 Jan. 2008. Web. 26 Jan. 2010. 3 Llanos, Connie. "Crisis creates sour notes for LAUSD arts." Daily Breeze. Los Angeles Newspaper Group, 5 Dec. 2009. Web. 12 Jan. 2010. 4 Ng, David. "Arts advocates mobilize to fight proposed L.A. Unified budget cuts." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times Media Group, 7 Jan. 2010. Web. 19 Jan. 2010. <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/01/arts- advocates-mobilize-to-fight-proposed-lausd-budget-cuts.html>. 5 Cortines, Ramon C. "A New Year." Los Angeles Unified School District. Web. 23 Jan. 2010. <http://lausd.k12.ca.us/>. 39 Chapter 6: Arts for All “No single agency, organization, or interest group can bring about the systemic change needed to guarantee a quality, sequential K-12 arts education every public school student in Los Angeles County. The commitment and involvement of every stakeholder group is necessary to achieve the vision.” —Arts for All: Los Angeles County Blueprint for Arts Education The Los Angeles County Arts Commission (LACAC) was organized to foster excellence, diversity, vitality, understanding and accessibility of the arts in Los Angeles County. The Commission provides leadership in cultural services for the County, including information and resources for the community, artists, educators, arts organizations and municipalities. Los Angeles County has the largest concentration of arts activity in the United States with nearly 3,000 arts organization and 150,000 working artists. 1 LACAC developed the “Arts for All: Los Angeles County Blueprint for Arts Education,” which was adopted by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in September 2002. The initiative was created as a strategic plan to restore arts education in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts for the 1.7 million students in Los Angeles County's 81 school districts by helping public schools implement comprehensive art education programs that align with the California State Board of Education’s approved VAPA Standards. 2 40 With the implementation of Arts for All, LACAC envisions that the initiative will: • Strengthens a child’s academic growth and development as an individual • Prepares the child to feel a part of and make a positive contribution to the community • Ensures a creative and competitive workforce to meet the economic opportunities of the present and future 3 The Catalyst The Arts Education Task Force of Arts for LA, a coalition of senior arts leaders, commissioned the Arts in Focus survey in 2000, which detailed the status of arts education in Los Angeles County; the results were astounding and guided the development of the Arts for All blueprint. Some finding included: • 54% reported no adopted arts policy • 37% reported no defined sequential arts education in any discipline, at any school level • 64% reported no district level arts coordinator • In 2000, the ratio of credentialed arts teachers to students was 1:1200 • Nearly 50% reported “lack of instructional time in students’ schedules as the most significant challenge.” • 78% of districts allocate less than 2% of their budget to arts education • 82.3% use partnerships with non-profit organizations to provide arts education 41 Laying the Foundation The survey results prompted LACAC to establish an Arts Education Hub in partnership with the Los Angeles County Office of Education. In November 2001, the Hub convened a 20 member advisory group, comprised of arts education leaders, to develop preliminary goals and strategies of a regional blueprint for arts education, as well as the process by which the advisory group would elicit feedback on the draft regional blueprint. The advisory group began consulting directly with potential stakeholder in March 2002; they held meetings with policy makers, implementers and recipients who offered insight, perspective and resources that lead to the creation of the Arts for All regional blueprint. The Four Goals of Arts for All 1. Each of the 82 school districts in Los Angeles County enacts a policy, adopts a plan with timeline, and approves a budget to implement sequential K–12 arts education. 2. Implementers and policy makers have sufficient tools, information, and professional development to achieve sequential K-12 arts education. 3. Parents, students, arts supporters, and community and industry leaders mobilize to advocate for sequential K-12 arts education. 4. Funding policies of public and private funders support and align with vision and mission of this plan. 42 Implementation In 2004 the Burbank Unified School District (BUSD), along with several other districts in Los Angeles, was invited to participate in the Community Arts Education Project (CAEP). By participating in CAEP school districts became eligible to access funds from the Arts for All Pooled Fund, which is a collective initiative of various corporation and organizations headquartered in Los Angeles. The participating corporations and organizations created a united front to help transform the failing arts education programs in Los Angeles as part of their corporate social responsibility plans. According to Peggy Flynn, the arts coordinator for BUSD, it was because of Warner Bros. Entertainment’s specific interest in sponsoring the city of Burbank that BUSD was able to create the Burbank Arts Education Foundation (BAEF)—an organization dedicated to ensuring permanent and equal access to a quality arts education for Burbank’s 15,000 students—and continue to grow with the Arts for All initiative. 4 Since joining the initiative, the city of Burbank has launched BAEF, hired Flynn and two elementary music educators, and created a board-approved plan with the following six focus areas, which are regularly reassessed: 1. Standards-based curriculum, student assessment and professional development Program evaluation 2. Program administration and personnel 3. Partnerships and collaborations 43 4. Instructional materials and equipment 5. Funding 6. Communication strategy goals However, despite all of their hard work, all three positions and the board- approved plan and timeline are in jeopardy if the arts education categorical grants discussed in Chapter 4 are changed from categorical funding into flexible funding for the district. AEPI Reports of 2005 & 2008 In 2005, Arts for All published its first Arts Education Performance Indicators Report (AEPI). The report was based on a Web survey conducted by the Arts for All Executive Committee and Americans for the Arts. Assistant superintendents, directors of curriculum, and/or school district coordinators in Los Angeles County school districts were surveyed to find out what kind—if any—arts education policies and plans were in place. As a result of the survey Arts for All reported that the success of a sequential K-12 arts education depends on the following five factors: • An arts education policy adopted by the school board • An arts education plan adopted by the school board • A district level arts coordinator • An arts education budget of at least 5% of the district’s total budget • A student to credentialed arts teacher ratio no higher than 400:1 44 Since the original survey conducted in 2005, Arts for All has been able to measure the progress of each participating school district based on the Five Success Factors. As a result in the updated report of 2008, the AEPI reported that Arts for All had seen significant progress. “This is the first such improvement since 1978 when the passage of Proposition 13 reduced property taxes and districts lost local funding setting off a steady decline of arts education in California schools,” states the AEPI report of 2008. 5 Figure 1: 5 Success Factors 2005 2008 Board-adopted arts education policy 37% 64% Board-adopted arts education plan 35% 61% District level arts coordinator 12% 39% 5% or more of general budget for arts education * 15% 3% Ratio of 400:1 students to credentialed arts teachers 10% 16% Analysis of this self-reported data indicates these developments in the five success factors for arts education infrastructure since 2005. In 2008, when the report was published, six school districts attained at least four of the five factors of success. The school districts were: Beverly Hills, Burbank, Los Angeles, Palos Verdes, Peninsula, Santa Monica Malibu and Whittier Union. * Although the 5% budget indicator appears to have declined since 2005, the 2008 AEPI report accounts the difference to a change in the survey’s instructions. “In 2008, unlike 2005, respondents were provided with detailed definitions and clarifying questions relative to the budget so the 2008 data is linked to more specifics on funding allocations.” 45 Since the launch of Arts for All in 2002, 39 of the 81 school districts in Los Angeles County have joined the initiative—these districts represent 53 percent of public school students in the County. Also, 28 of the 39 Arts for All school districts have adopted a board-approved policy or plan, 22 have hired Arts Coordinators, and nearly all use general fund dollars as a source of funding for arts education—other funding sources include the Parent-Teacher Association, various education foundations, public grants, private grants, booster club fundraisers, facilities bonds, state textbook funds and program/site-based fundraising such as car washes, bake sales and catalogue sales. The 7 th Year In October 2009, Arts for All published “Arts for All: 7 th Year Review.” To address the fiscal crises affect on their organization’s mission and vision, Arts for All stated: For the past seven years, Arts for All has concentrated on building infrastructure within school districts to support sequential, quality arts education in dance, music, theatre and visual arts. The decision to concentrate on infrastructure—a school board-adopted policy, plan and budget, school district level arts coordinator and student to credentialed arts teacher ratio no higher than 400:1—was driven by the belief that, if arts education were woven into the fabric of the school district, it would be more difficult to cut when times got tough. This supposition has proved to be true. With the U.S. economy in crisis and the state of California facing deep fiscal challenges, school boards are being forced to make very difficult decisions. In the Arts for All districts, arts education programs experienced budget cuts, but, this time around, they have been part of across-the-board belt tightening rather than the total elimination of arts education programs and staff. School districts’ foundation stones of arts education infrastructure have played a significant role in changing the environment for arts education in Los Angeles County. 6 46 Chapter Summary Since its adoption in 2002, the Arts for All initiative has come a long way in producing positive results while closely keeping an eye on the progress each of its participating schools are making. Although LACAC does not plan on discontinuing the initiative, California’s budget crisis may result in several years of waning results for Arts for All. Thus far, the initiative has been surviving off of the Arts for All Pooled Fund, which continues to fund coaches to facilitate the building of arts education infrastructure in Arts for All school districts, and a $1.2 million grant awarded by The Wallace Foundation in October 2008. “The grant is enabling Arts for All to build on the achievements of its first six years by expanding its ability to bring arts education to more children, make its distribution more equitable and elevate the quality of arts instruction. Through new programs enabled by this funding, Arts for All is deepening its relationships with the 28 Los Angeles County school districts that joined the initiative from 2003 to 2008 as well as strengthening advocacy for arts education and developing models and tools to assess quality, access and equity.” 5 47 Endnotes 1 Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Enriching Lives: Los Angeles County Arts Commission. LA County Arts. Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. <http://www.lacountyarts.org/about.html>. 2 Arts Education: Arts for All. Ed. Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Web. Winter 2009. <http://www.lacountyarts.org/page/artseducation>. 3 Arts for All: Los Angeles County Regional Blueprint for Arts Education (Updates October 2004). Rep. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Arts Commission, 2004. Print. 4 "Interview with Peggy Flynn." Personal interview. 22 Jan. 2010. 5 Brazell, Danielle, Janice Pober, Darline P. Robles, Laurie Schell, Mark Slavkin, Gail Tierney, Hope Warschaw, and Laura Zucker. Arts for All: 2008 Arts Education Performance Indicators (AEPI) Report. Rep. Los Angeles: Arts for All, 2009. Print. 6 Brazell, Danielle, Janice Pober, Darline P. Robles, Laurie Schell, Mark Slavkin, Gail Tierney, Hope Warschaw, and Laura Zucker. Arts for All: 7 th Year Review. Rep. Los Angeles: Arts for All, 2009. Print. 48 Chapter 7: Arts for LA “Creative children look twice, listen for smells, dig deeper, build dream castles, get from behind locked doors, have a ball, plug in the sun, get into and out of deep water, sing in their own key. —Paul Torrance, Psychologist Arts for LA is an arts advocacy organization committed to fostering a healthy environment in which the arts can thrive and be accessible to all in Los Angeles. The organization was incorporated in 2006, but had informally existed for a decade prior to becoming an official not-for-profit organization. The group, comprised of executive arts leaders in Los Angeles, meets to discuss and gain “greater understanding about policies that affect the arts and strengthen relationships with the public officials who create and oversee its implementation.” 1 Arts for LA Partners with Arts for All Although Arts for LA has been working in alliance with LACAC for several years and has been the official sister organization for implementing the Arts for All initiative, in the fall of 2009 the two programs created a pilot program that mainly concentrates on Goal Three of Arts for All’s four goals mentioned previously. 49 Goal Three: Parents, students, arts supporters, and community and industry leaders mobilize to advocate for sequential K-12 arts education. The pilot program, which hopes to develop a sustainable model for community advocacy in school districts, picked five school districts to participate during its first year. According to Tara Stafford, advocacy manager at Arts for LA, the districts were picked based on their need, will and ability to create and sustain such a program. 2 Participating School Districts: • Burbank Unified School District • Culver City Unified School District • Montebello Unified School District • Paramount Unified School District • Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District The overarching goal for the pilot year of this new program and was to identify the best practices for community organizing in school districts and create an effective model to advocate for the arts one school district at a time. The pilot program is modeled around four goals. Goal one, bring together a team of leaders who will identify as arts education advocates and who will be able to create and lead advocacy campaigns. Goal two, increase community awareness and support. Goal three, bring concerns and community support to district officials. Lastly, goal four, develop and apply a sustainable model to continue advocating for arts education once the Arts for LA advocacy mangers leave. 3 50 When Stafford was hired in June of 2009, she and her team were given the summer of developing a general plan that they would follow once the fall semester began. They created concrete goals but their timeline and tactics were based on ideals and assumptions. Stafford came to realize that goal one took longer than expected and discussions of how things were to operate, when meetings were to take place and understanding of their city’s history with arts education slowed down the process. Stafford also noted that even among the five districts chosen as models, she noticed differences and varying obstacles depending on the district and its surrounding community. BUSD and Santa Monica-Malibu USD were easier to operate in. BUSD had Arts Education Foundation that Arts for LA was able to work with. As for Santa Monica-Malibu USD, since it is located in an affluent community, getting their support was not difficult either. On the other hand, Paramount USD served as an example of a district on the other end of the spectrum. A majority of the Paramount community are not English speakers and many did not have e-mail addresses and did not know how to create them, according to Stafford. During meetings Stafford said she needed a translator because attendees spoke mainly Spanish and she didn’t understand them and visa-versa. Given all of the obstacles in the Paramount USD, it became apparent that if the program was to extend beyond the pilot year, the teams would have to have a better understanding and scope of the communities they would be entering. 51 According to Stafford, since the program is still in its pilot year, her team is unsure of its future. However, they remain hopeful that the participating districts will be left with the skills and knowledge needed to continue operating their city advocacy groups once the Arts for LA representatives move on to other districts. The future of the program depends on Arts for LA’s funding; if it doesn’t receive the funds needed to keep community organizers like Stafford on staff then the program won’t continue producing positive results. Ideally, Stafford says they would like to continue extending the program and offering their community advocacy services to other districts in Los Angeles County. Arts for LA & LAUSD’s Pending Cuts in Arts Education Arts for LA has also taken a very hands on approach with the pending arts education cuts in LAUSD. Since the announcement of the superintendent’s proposition to cut half of LAUSD’s elementary arts educators in the coming academic year, Arts for LA has launched a letter writing campaign encouraging community members, parents and other influencers to write letters to their school board members. The goal of the campaign is to sway the majority of the school board members—meaning four of the seven board members—to vote in favor of maintaining the current level of elementary arts teachers. 4 Arts for LA’s strategy is to send a minimum of 100 letters to each school board member (total of at least 700 letters), in order to make a big impression and show the school board that the community is ready to protest against the pending cuts. As of February 12, Arts for LA reported more than 740 letters 52 were send using their Web site’s online system. Superintendent Ramon Cortines responded to the campaign in letter addressed to Arts for LA’s executive director, Danielle Brazell. A portion of the letter read as follows: I believe that we have to all be realistic and acknowledge the economic situation that school district and the State finds itself in. The economic crisis that we face is not anything that we can “will” away. We have to keep our eye on the programs for children and not adult agendas. I am not proposing that we eliminate the arts program; however, arts programs will not be offered to children as frequently as they have been in the past. 5 Although Superintendent Cortines is correct, we cannot will this economic crisis away, we also can’t stand to lose any more quality education for our children. This is not an issue of agendas; it is an issue of maintaining a quality education for the benefit of our children’s future. Chapter Summary Arts for LA is only one of many arts organization in Los Angeles County; however, they stand out among the rest in Los Angeles because they have the greatest number of voices and their voices are now resonating within school districts and in the among the Board of Education. They are looking out for the common good and insisting that an essential area of study such as the arts isn’t overlooked. Their intentions and means are honorable and they are working with all of the other arts organization in the County, not against them. If their posed letter writing campaign is successful, they will have served the enormous LAUSD community; if their efforts fail, they will have still made it clear to the School Board that they have no intentions of letting the arts programs and educators go without a fight. 53 Endnotes 1 "About." Arts for LA. Arts for LA. Web. Winter 2009. 2 "Interview with Tara Stafford." Personal interview. 02 Feb. 2010. 3 "Community Advocacy Teams: Arts Ed Portal." Arts for LA. Arts for LA. Web. Winter 2009. <http://www.artsforla.org/arts_ed_teams>. 4 “Take Action.” Arts for LA. Arts for LA. Web. Winter 2009. 5 "Response From Superintendent Cortines." Arts for LA. Arts for LA. Web. Winter 2009. <http://www.artsforla.org/response_superintendent_cortines>. 54 Chapter 8: Arts Education & Public Relations: Dos & Don’ts 1. DO get to know your community. DON’T assume anything. a. Some communities may have a many of non-English speaking members and parents; take into consideration your message as well as your method of delivery. b. Do not assume the community is well versed on the Internet. Many community members and parents do not have active e-mail accounts and do not know how to operate on the Internet. c. In some communities, school board members and city council members are more in tune with the issues and want to be apart of the advocacy groups; in other communities, school board members and city council members are not as inclined to listen to your issues due to preconceived opinions regarding your message. d. More affluent communities may sometimes be more receptive to advocacy groups; communities that are not as privileged may have other priorities, therefore make the messages relevant and relatable to each community’s needs and wants. 2. DON’T assume the community is already aware of the issues. a. As advocates we are very in tune with the issues at hand; however, we can’t assume that the recipients of our messages are in tune with them as well. Be prepared to educate the community first, before developing a plan of attack. 55 3. DO develop a passionate committee of community members who are ready to go out and educate the rest of the community, organize meetings with school board members, recruit more committee members, organize fundraising events, etc. a. Community members are a great source of information because they are representative of the people you want to reach. They know the community, they know the community’s needs, they have children enrolled in the school districts you wish to improve and they are the ones you need on your team. b. As an advocacy organization, when you enter a community you are inclined to begin dictating what they community needs to improve and what they need to do to get the improvements made; however, this approach can backfire if community members don’t agree with your strategy or your message. 4. DO approach local companies/corporations for sponsorships and other forms of involvement. a. When organizing advocacy groups approach local companies for assistance. Even if they can’t donate large sums of money, they can help with products or message dissemination. Partnering with other influencers is always a useful strategy to gain community awareness and education programs. 5. DO create a cohesive and comprehensive plan. DON’T attempt to implement tactics that have little to do with one another, as this can become confusing and create conflicting messages. 56 a. Different audiences require different tactics; however, all tactics and strategies should be developed to deliver the same messages and obtain the same end results. 6. DO implement creative tactics and strategies. a. Although a grassroots campaign is generally measured by the number of attendees at an event, or the amount of money collected during a fundraiser, or the total number of signatures obtained and letters sent to officials in support of a cause, it is also important to keep the donations coming, interest high and the perceptions positive. Simply asking for donations and/or signatures will not result in a lasting impression. Develop tactics/strategies that will make an impression long after the event/fundraiser is over. 7. DO participate in local/citywide events. a. Get involved with the community as much as possible. Other community organizations can be give you useful information regarding your target audience or message dissemination tactics and tools. If the community you are trying to reach is having a fair, rent a booth, or if your community is having a parade, create/sponsor a float to ride in the parade. 8. BE PASSIONATE, HONEST & READY TO LISTEN AS WELL AS EDUCATE. a. When you are passionate about a matter, it is easy to express its importance to others and others are more inclined to listen. Don’t enter a community ready to call the shots, be ready to listen first and take action second. 57 Bibliography "About." Arts for LA. Arts for LA. Web. Winter 2009. Adajian, Thomas. "The Definition of Art." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, 23 Oct. 2007. Web. 19 Dec. 2009. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/art- definition/>. "Arts and Music Block Grant." California Department of Education. California Department of Education, 25 Jan. 2008. Web. 26 Jan. 2010. Arts Education: Arts for All. Ed. Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Web. Winter 2009. <http://www.lacountyarts.org/page/artseducation>. "Arts Education: District Case Studies." Arts Education: Arts for All. Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Web. Winter 2009. <http://lacountyarts.org/artsed/casestudies.html>. "Arts for All." Burbank Unified School District. Burbank Unified School District. Web. Winter 2009. <http://www.burbank.k12.ca.us/index.aspx?page=83>. Arts for All: Los Angeles County Regional Blueprint for Arts Education (Updates October 2004). Rep. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Arts Commission, 2004. Print. "Arts, Music, and Physical Education." California Department of Education. California Department of Education, 28 Jan. 2008. Web. 26 Jan. 2010. Barnett, Peter. "Famous Patrons and their Influence, Pope Julius II." Web log post. Art in History. Art ID, 17 Oct. 2007. Web. 28 Dec. 2009. <http://artid.com/members/art_in_history/blog/post/164-famous-patrons-and-their- influence-pope-julius-ii?SES=0e536c837683dd88086/>. Brazell, Danielle, Janice Pober, Darline P. Robles, Laurie Schell, Mark Slavkin, Gail Tierney, Hope Warschaw, and Laura Zucker. Arts for All: 2008 Arts Education Performance Indicators (AEPI) Report. Rep. Los Angeles: Arts for All, 2009. Print. Brazell, Danielle, Janice Pober, Darline P. Robles, Laurie Schell, Mark Slavkin, Gail Tierney, Hope Warschaw, and Laura Zucker. Arts for All: 7 th Year Review. Rep. Los Angeles: Arts for All, 2009. Print. Burbank Arts Education Foundation. Help Us Revitalize Arts Education For All in Burbank Schools. Burbank: Burbank Arts Education Foundation, [c. 2008]. Print Burrell, Jane. "Measuring Arts Education, Part I." Web Log post. Unframed. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 24 Feb. 2010. Web. 03 Mar. 2010. <http://lacma.wordpress.com/>. "Community Advocacy Teams: Arts Ed Portal." Arts for LA. Arts for LA. Web. Winter 2009. <http://www.artsforla.org/arts_ed_teams>. 58 Cornett, Claudia E. Creating Meaning through Literature and the Arts: an Integration Resource for Classroom Teachers. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, 2007. Print. Cortines, Ramon C. "A New Year." Los Angeles Unified School District. Web. 23 Jan. 2010. <http://lausd.k12.ca.us/>. Crosby, Brian. Smart Kids, Bad Schools: 38 Ways to save America's Future. New York: Thomas Dunne, 2008. Print. Gerber, Elizabeth. "Measuring Arts Education, Part II." Web Log post. Unframed. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 02 Mar. 2010. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. <http://lacma.wordpress.com/>. Gerber, Elizabeth. "Measuring Arts Education, Part III." Web Log post. Unframed. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 18 Mar. 2010. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. <http://lacma.wordpress.com/>. Heath, Shirley B., Elizabeth Soep, and Adelema Roach. "Living the Arts through Language Learning: A Report on Community-based Youth Organizations." Monographs 2 (Nov. 1998): 3. Americans for the Arts. Web. 20 Jan. 2010. <http://www.AmericansForTheArts.org/information_services/arts_education_communit y/>. Hetland, Lois. Studio Thinking: the Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education. New York: Teachers College, 2007. Print. Hickman, Richard. Why We Make Art and Why It Is Taught. Bristol, UK: Intellect, 2005. Print. "History." Burbank Unified School District. Burbank Unified School District. Web. Winter 2009. <http://www.burbank.k12.ca.us/index.aspx?page=90>. "Interview with Peggy Flynn." Personal interview. 22 Jan. 2010. "Interview with Peggy Flynn (2)." Personal interview. 1 Feb. 2010. "Interview with Tara Stafford." Personal interview. 02 Feb. 2010. Khan, Amina. "Michelle Obama Gives Harmony Projects a Round of Applause." Web Log post. L.A. Now. Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. Llanos, Connie. "Crisis creates sour notes for LAUSD arts." Daily Breeze. Los Angeles Newspaper Group, 5 Dec. 2009. Web. 12 Jan. 2010. Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Enriching Lives: Los Angeles County Arts Commission. LA County Arts. Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. <http://www.lacountyarts.org/about.html>. "New Study Reports on Revitalizing Arts Education in Six Urban Areas." NAEA News Advancing Arts Education 50 (Aug. 2008): 1. National Arts Education Association. National Arts Education Association, Aug. 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. <http://www.arteducators.org/news/NAEANews_Aug08.pdf>. 59 Ng, David. "Arts advocates mobilize to fight proposed L.A. Unified budget cuts." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times Media Group, 7 Jan. 2010. Web. 19 Jan. 2010. <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/01/arts-advocates-mobilize-to- fight-proposed-lausd-budget-cuts.html>. "No Child Left Behind." Education Week. Ed. Christopher Swanson. Editorial Projects in Education, 21 Sept. 2004. Web. 14 Jan. 2010. <http://www.edweek.org/>. Perrin, Stephanie. "Arts Are Nice, But..." New Horizons for Learning. 1997. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. <http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/arts/cabc/perrin1.htm>. "Response From Superintendent Cortines." Arts for LA. Arts for LA. Web. Winter 2009. <http://www.artsforla.org/response_superintendent_cortines>. Sabol, Robert. No Child Left Behind: A Study of Its Impact on Arts Education. Rep. National Arts Education Foundation, Feb. 2010. Web. Mar. 2010. <http://www.arteducators.org/research/NCLB_Proj_Report_2-10.pdf>. "Supplemental Programming." Glendale Unified School District. Glendale Unified School District. Web. Winter 2009. “Take Action.” Arts for LA. Arts for LA. Web. Winter 2009. United States. General Accounting Office. Title I Characteristics of Tests Will Influence Expenses; Information Sharing May Help States Realize Efficiencies. Comp. Sherri Doughty. By Jason Palmer. Washington, D.C., 2003. U.S. Government Accountability Office. May 2003. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. <http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03389.pdf>. "Visual & Performing Arts (VAPA)." Glendale Unified School District. Glendale Unified School District. Web. Winter 2009. "Why Do Students Need Arts?" Arts for LA. Ed. A. Flanagan. LAUSD Arts Education Branch, 2009. Web. 8 Jan. 2010. <http://www.artsforla.org/whyartsed>. 60 Appendix: Resources Arts Resources Americans for the Arts http://www.americansforthearts.org/ Arts Education Partnership http://aep-arts.org/ Arts for LA http://www.artsforla.org/ California Alliance for Arts Education http://www.artsed411.org/ California Department of Education Visual & Performing Arts California Resources http://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/vp/vapacaresources.asp Los Angeles County Arts Commission http://www.lacountyarts.org/ National Arts Education Association http://www.arteducators.org/ Project Zero http://www.pz.harvard.edu/ Education Resources California Department of Education http://www.cde.ca.gov/ Education Data Partnership http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/ Office of the Secretary of Education—California http://www.ose.ca.gov/
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
During a tough economic climate public schools are forced to make educational cuts due to the lack of governmental funding. Unfortunately for the arts education programs, they are usually the first to go in times of financial instability. In the past decade, Los Angeles County has launched various advocacy groups and created a comprehensive arts education blueprint with hopes of successfully rebuilding the deteriorating arts programs in its 81 school districts
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Creator
Yeghishian, Hilda
(author)
Core Title
The fourth "R" of education: promoting arts education in Los Angeles public schools
School
Annenberg School for Communication
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
Strategic Public Relations
Publication Date
05/04/2010
Defense Date
05/04/2010
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
advocacy,art,Arts,community relations,education,Los Angeles,OAI-PMH Harvest,Public school
Place Name
California
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Los Angeles
(counties)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Floto, Jennifer D. (
committee chair
), Kotler, Jonathan (
committee member
), Page, Tim (
committee member
)
Creator Email
hilda.yeghishian@gmail.com,yeghishi@usc.edu
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https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m2990
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UC1327685
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309824
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Yeghishian, Hilda
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texts
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University of Southern California
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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Libraries, University of Southern California
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Tags
advocacy
community relations
education