ARTS ACTIVE PARENT
December 1, 2006 Volume 2, Issue 4
Monthly Newsletter of the Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership
Alameda County Office of
Education Sheila Jordan, Superintendent |
| Dear Alameda County Parents,
The pressing question we’re hearing everywhere
is “What about this new state funding for arts?” Parents,
teachers, administrators, and arts organizations want to know when
it’s coming, how it can be spent, and who decides.
According to the California
Alliance for Arts Education (http://www.artsed411.org),
the California State Department of Education is close to beginning
the process of distributing these funds. The first type of funding
is $105 million ongoing annual funding for visual and performing
arts. This works out to about $17-$18 per student per year in California,
and may be used to hire additional staff, pay for staff development,
and purchase new materials, books, supplies, and equipment. This
funding will be sent to school districts who will be responsible
for distributing it to their schools according to their own internal
district plans, within the general rule that funding must support
standards aligned instruction in kindergarten through grade twelve.
It is the intent of the Governor and Legislature that these funds
supplement, and not supplant, existing resources for the visual
and performing arts (defined by California as dance, music, theatre
and visual arts).
The second type of new funding
for arts education in California is $500 million for one-time funding
for visual and performing arts and physical education. This is not
continuing funding. It may be used for the purchase of arts, music
and/or physical education supplies and equipment and professional
development for teachers. It will also be distributed through districts.
It appears that the $105
million will begin distribution in January 2007 and the $500 million
in February 2007. The first distribution of each type of funding
will be about 75% of the total, with the remaining money coming
in June 2007.
For more information, please
visit our online Action Center Update.
http://www.artiseducation.org/artised/action.htm
Check back regularly, as we'll keep it updated with the latest links
to information from the California Department of Education, California
Alliance for Arts Education, and our own Alameda County developments.
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| This
historic funding
is an exciting opportunity, as well as an optimistic sign
that our society does recognize the crucial role arts play
in excellent and equitable education for all our students.
It is important that this first year the monies are well spent,
both so that our children and schools receive the greatest
long-term benefit, and also so we can point to accomplishments
in what is bound to be an annual “reminder” to
our legislature about why it is so important to keep this
item in the budget.
As a parent you can play an important role in how arts funding
is used at your school. Find out how decisions will be made.
Join your School Site Council and other parent groups. Go
to meetings. Speak with your principal about how you think
the funds should be used. Before you do, I encourage you to
educate yourself about the options. While every school has
different needs, there are some commonalities about arts learning
and arts integration that all arts active parents should be
familiar with.
TCAP
(The California Arts Project) offers on its website a set
of recommendations for strategic use of the funding that was
developed in cooperation with several arts education organizations
and the California Department of Education. These are purely
recommendations and school sites will vary in their implementation,
but as a structure developed by expert professionals, it provides
a nice place to start your own education and your discussions
with others.
http://csmp.ucop.edu/tcap/news/support_visual.html
Our
own Art IS Education Action Center will keep you updated with
all the latest information about availability and potential
uses for the funds, including recommendations developed specifically
for our needs in Alameda County. To stay updated, bookmark
this link and check back regularly: http://www.artiseducation.org/artised/action.htm |
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| 
Above,
Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Sheila Jordan (second from
right) with parents and community members at November 30th's Arts
Active Parent Leadership Council meeting at the Attitudinal Healing
Connection in West Oakland. About 40 people representing almost
as many schools attended. The meeting was co-hosted by ACOE's Alliance
for Arts Learning Leadership, the Attitudinal Healing Connection,
Inc., and California College of the Arts' Center for Art and Public
Life.
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Parents
Making a Difference:
Arts Active Parent Leadership Council
On November 30, 2006, forty parents and community members who care
about arts education gathered at the Attitudinal Healing Connection
in West Oakland to talk about their hopes and ambitions for arts
learning in public schools. Many schools and other organizations
were represented in this group, as well as elected officials including
Oakland School Board members Dan Siegel and Gary Yee, and Alameda
County Office of Education Superintendent Sheila Jordan. A number
of opportunities for education and advocacy were presented. The
group will sponsor education events including a conference on January
20, 2007, as well as to continue to meet on a quarterly basis to
create a regional parent and community voice for arts education.
Future meetings will be publicized in this newsletter. If you were
not able to attend but would like to receive any follow-up emails
that go to this group, please send a request to aparents (at) artiseducation (dot) org.
Save
the Date January 20
We’re planning a conference for Alameda County Arts Active
Parents for Saturday, January 20, 2007. If you are interested in
representing your school or you have ideas about information you
would like to see included, please send an email to aparents (at) artiseducation (dot) org.
As soon as they’re available, details about the conference
will be posted at:
http://www.artiseducation.org/parents/parentsupcoming.htm
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FREE
AND INEXPENSIVE THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR KIDS IN DECEMBER
December
is a month of performances and exhibitions in many schools.
These events are hugely important to your school’s
sense of community, as well as for the sense of accomplishment
it brings to your children. Whether or not your kids are
performing or have artwork on display, I urge you to attend
all such events at your school. For the child who hasn’t
had the art experience, it can be inspirational. For the
child whose work is part of the event, your presence and
praise will mean more than you imagine, or your child can
express.
Likewise,
I urge you to attend performances and exhibits at the schools
your child may attend in the future. A middle school concert
can be a real eye-opener for a 5th grader. Seeing a high
school play can calm an 8th grader’s trepidations
about high school and provide a way to imagine herself/himself
successful in that next school. (A word to parents of
younger children: While elementary school performances are
generally free of charge, many high schools and middle schools
find it necessary to charge admission to support their programs.
Find out about tickets ahead of time, or come prepared to
pay for tickets or make a contribution.)
Many
families have traditions about hand-made gifts and ornaments
that make their holidays full of art-making. Others have
songs and musical performance that are part of their holiday
traditions, or they make a holiday pilgrimage to see a particular
display of lights or decoration. Creating beautiful and
delicious holiday food, or decorating your home in accordance
with your holiday traditions, can also be times to engage
with your child in creating beauty. This time of year can
be challenging because of conflicting priorities of daily
life and holidays, of work and family and extended family.
It’s sometimes very easy to get caught up in the stress,
and very hard to slow down and spend some hours in quiet
creation or enjoyment with our children. But in the end
it is those quiet hours you will remember and treasure.
Please
note that some events below are appropriate for teens, others
for toddlers. For more events, and more details about the
events below, visit http://www.artiseducation.org/prg/events.asp
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| FREE
Film “Shadya” December 6, 6:30 p.m.
Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street, Oakland
Documentary film by Roy Westler and Udi Kalinsky tells the
story of a 17-year-old Muslim girl, Israeli citizen, and karate
champion as she strives to succeed on her own terms in her
community. There will be a pre-screening reception at 6 p.m.
and a panel discussion will follow the film. The ITVS Community
Cinema Series at the museum features sneak previews of films
scheduled for upcoming broadcast on the PBS series Independent
Lens, and is a collaboration among the City of Oakland, Oakland
Film Office, Oakland Museum of California, KQED, and ITVS.
The series continues through June 2007. Visit www.itvs.org/outreach
for film information. Free. Free parking available in the
museum garage.
http://www.museumca.org/
FREE
Family Explorations! Winter Festival December 10, 1-4 p.m.
Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street, Oakland
Celebrate diverse winter traditions with a day of hands-on
Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa activities, strolling carolers,
and food and fun treats for sale. The Pacific Mozart Ensemble
will present A Story of Freedom Told Through Spirituals for
Kwanzaa. Jewelry, crafts, and clothing by local artists at
a special holiday gift sale. Wells Fargo Free Second Sundays.
In collaboration with DEAF Media.
http://www.museumca.org/ |
FREE
Gingerbread House Party at Habitot December 20, 9:30 a.m.
– 1:00 p.m., Habitot Children's Museum 2065 Kittredge
Street, Berkeley
(one block from downtown Berkeley BART)
Children, come help decorate a giant gingerbread house with
candies, cookies and sprinkles. Bring a bag of candy to share.
The complete house will be donated to a local family shelter
for the children to enjoy. Holiday storytelling throughout
the day. This FREE Admission Day is generously sponsored by
Bank of America.
http://www.habitot.org
AFFORDABLE
Winter Wonder World Holiday Camp
for Children ages 3.5 – 8, December 26-28, 10am-1pm
Symba Center Studios, 3732 Magee Ave, Oakland
Your children are invited to celebrate many delightful winter
traditions --stories, music, arts & crafts projects, cooking
& games from around the world. $75 for three day camp
plus $5 materials. $30 for one day of camp plus $2 materials.
AFFORDABLE
Camp Iwalewa, December 26-January 5
9a.m.-4p.m. with aftercare available until 6 p.m., K-5 grades
Malonga Casquelourd Arts Center, 1428 Alice Street, Oakland
Camp Iwalewa's Winter Camp theme is ¡FOLKLORICO!, a
fully bilingual Spanish-English experience that will expose
students to the performance arts of Latin Ameica and the Caribbean.
Daily walking field trips to the Oakland Public Library as
well as Lake Merrit. $200 per week, sibling discount. For
more information, check out the web page: www.geocities.com/campiwalewa/winter
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ALAMEDA
COUNTY ALLIANCE FOR ARTS LEARNING LEADERSHIP
For information about the Alameda County Alliance for Arts Learning
Leadership,
how it supports arts education in public schools,
and how to get involved, visit www.artiseducation.org.
If
you would like to receive this newsletter every month via email,
please send a request to aparents (at) artiseducation (dot) org.
We
gratefully acknowledge the Walter and Elise Haas Fund for sponsoring
the Arts Learning
Parent Involvement Project to create stronger ties between homes
and schools around the arts.
Kathy
Kahn, Arts Active Parent Coordinator
Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership
Alameda County Office of Education
artsactiveparents (at) artiseducation (dot) org
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