The past year has been unlike any that I’ve experienced since I joined the Alliance eight years ago. Much has to do with the changing landscape of education policy and funding in California. From the adoption of Common Core Content Standards to implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula, the conversation around school and student success has opened up in ways that are more wholistic, more equitable and more inclusive of arts education. We, at the California Alliance for Arts Education, are seizing opportunites in every possible way and in 2014 we made great strides, including:

• Launched 7 new local advocacy coalitions throughout the state
• Worked with advocates in 20 additional districts to prepare them to advocate within the Local Control Funding Formula
• Succeeded in getting arts education written into 3-year LCAP plans of 30 of our districts
• Published surveys of school board candidates in 68 districts for voters to consult before the November election
• Gave students a way to share their creativity and passion for the arts with elected officials through our Student Voices Campaign (watch their inspired advocacy videos at StudentVoicesCampaign.org)
• Presented our policy paper, “A Policy Pathway: Embracing Arts Education to Achieve Title I Goals” at 7 conferences throughout the state

I am also pleased to report that just this past September, the superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District, the second largest school district in California, announced the allocation of $1.5 million in Title I funds to support arts integration in Title I schools in the district. This represents a major advancement in our work to empower Title I schools to engage arts education strategies to achieve Title I goals, and we are working closely with the team comprised of district officials and arts organizations in the area to develop a district-wide system that honors the requirements of Title I programs and establishes a model of district-wide implementation that others may follow.

Joe Landon
Executive Director