published by CAAEStaff on March 5, 2013 - 1:53pm
"Whether its informing the public about events, building capacity of arts organizations or championing arts education, Arts Orange County (ArtsOC) plays a vital role," so says USAirways Magazine in a recent issue of their infight magazine.
The California Alliance is delighted to see our longtime partners in local arts education advocacy recognized for their important work in the County. ArtsOC has spearheaded the Alliance's Local Advoacy Network in Orange County, building advoacy coaltions in fourteen OC school districts who are working to advance the arts in local schools. Read the article.
published by CAAEStaff on February 28, 2013 - 2:28pm
The Challenge: How to connect with parents and other allies and build support for K-12 arts education in local schools.
The Strategy: Donna Chinn created a Facebook page that pooled information about arts education events in Los Alamitos from various sites and schools, providing parents with one place to find out about all arts events in the district.
The Story: “I didn’t really know how Facebook worked,” says Donna Chinn, local organizer for the Los Alamitos Alliance for Arts Education, ”When I started I was trying to find or invent a way to connect with parents and other people who might be interested in local arts. Eventually, I discovered that I could set up a page for the arts alliance as an organization. Luckily, my daughter was able to help me with my many newbie questions.”
While she didn’t have experience with social media, Donna started with clear objectives and a sound strategy:
published by CAAEStaff on November 13, 2012 - 4:59pm
As a result of a new partnership with the California Arts Council, this fall local arts councils in Amador, Fresno, Mendocino, Placer and Santa Cruz joined the Alliance’s Local Advocacy Network.
The program empowers local communities to keep arts programs in schools by providing the strategic assistance, leadership development and communication tools. Since its launch four years ago, the network has helped local advocates build strong relationships with their local school boards, participate in the creation of a district arts plan and earn media coverage and broad support for arts education.
The five local councils support from bring a wealth of experience and a strong commitment to this work. Each one hosts a breakfast event for community leaders to gather and unify local support for arts education. Read about the recent launch in Amador County.
published by CAAEStaff on September 27, 2012 - 12:17pm
From Costco to the Curriculum Advisory Committee – Elevator Speeches that Work
By Cathy Dagostino-Hamilton, Local Organizer for the Escondido Alliance for Arts Education
The Challenge: How do you build relationships with school board members in your community?
Strategy: A little bit of nerve and a well-prepared elevator speech
Story: When I started working with the Alliance’s Local Advocacy Network I was a concerned, resourceful mom with a strong belief in the value of the arts. I had seen first hand how they had helped my daughter connect and learn at school and read research that backed up my experience. But I didn’t have relationships with local school board members who made the funding decisions about arts programs – how could I get my message across?
Get to know your school board members
You may find they or one of them may live in your own neighborhood. That happens to be the case for me and once I realized that, I began to notice her around our local area, walking, shopping, and at community events. Don’t be a stalker! I do not follow her around! I just take opportunities as they are presented. As it happened, I didn’t have to wait long. I was shopping at Costco when I saw a school board member right there in my path.
published by CAAEStaff on June 14, 2012 - 1:59pm
The Challenge: Finding a concrete way to get business leaders involved in arts education advocacy.
The Strategy: Ask them to sponsor a wall to display student artwork in a community gallery.
The Story: When Elva Rodriguez launched an arts education advocacy group in Central Unified Fresno, she already had good, solid relationships with local businesses. She had been involved with the Rotary club as well as the school district. But, she wondered how she could create a tangible way for businesses to support arts education in the community.
Her team came up with a concrete idea. They asked the Rotary Club to sponsor and name a wall in one of the galleries at Arte Américas, a community cultural center. The wall will be devoted to displaying student artwork.
published by CAAEStaff on May 2, 2012 - 5:11pm
The Orange County Arts Education Collaborative Fund—a collaboration between the Orange County Community Foundation and Arts Orange County—recently presented grants totaling $66,000 to 8 Orange County (OC) School Districts. Grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 were made possible by funding from The Boeing Company and the Orange County Community Foundation.
published by CAAEStaff on April 12, 2012 - 10:38am
The Challenge: How do you garner support for a far-reaching arts plan in tough financial times?
The Strategy: Partnership and patience. But not too much patience.
The Story: Adopting a district arts plan is a great way to build community support for a long-term commitment to arts education in schools. But given the state of public school funding in California, it’s understandable that district officials would be cautious about agreeing to a plan with long-term financial implications.
Sandee Van Oyen, the Local Organizer for the Placentia Yorba Linda Alliance for Arts Education, who spearheaded the effort says she was lucky to find strong commitment to the arts in the school board, district staff and County Department of Education -- and patience.
“Without the support and partnership of staff within the district office we could not have pulled this off,” says Van Oyen “It took months and months of meetings and carefully going over the details of the Arts Advantage plan so that everyone could understand and become comfortable with the fiscal impact. A lot of patience was required on everyone’s part.”
published by CAAEStaff on March 20, 2012 - 3:28pm
The Challenge: How do you connect with parents across a large, rural county with twenty-three separate school districts?
The Strategy: Invite parents to an event featuring resources for advocacy and a free night of theater.
The Story: When the Stanislaus Alliance for Arts Education launched last fall, it was clear that parents were key to preserving or expanding arts education in Stanislaus schools.
“We saw right away that the districts that had arts programs were the ones where parents were involved -- through booster clubs, PTAs or education foundations,” says Patty Larrick, the local organizer for the Stanislaus Alliance. “Our challenge was to bring all these different groups together, in order to share best practices and coordinate efforts.”
published by LosAlamitos on September 16, 2016 - 6:05pm
This bio and photo are from the Oak Instrumental Music website:
www.oakmusic.org
Robert Harrell was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California and was heavily involved in the local music scene. Besides receiving several acknowledgments of outstanding musicianship at Santa Barbara High School, he was the solo trumpet chair in the Monday Madness Big Band, and he played bass professionally in local jazz groups and in the pit orchestra for several theater companies. He moved to Southern California for his undergraduate studies at Biola University. During his time at Biola he was a integral part of the music department, playing trumpet in the jazz ensemble, symphonic winds, brass ensemble, and brass quintet. He played both upright and electric bass for the jazz combo and vocal jazz group. He was the president and student conductor of the symphonic winds at Biola University, and he graduated in the Spring of 2015 with a bachelor's degree in Music Education, and then went on to complete his teaching credential that fall.
The first stop in his educational career was at Los Alamitos High School, as the director of the jazz and orchestra groups. He will never forget the rewarding time that he shared with the students and the achievements they accomplished that year. Robert has a passion for music and a passion for students, and he knows that music has the power to change lives. One of his biggest goals as an educator is to ignite the love for music inside each of his students, and to help them achieve whatever they set their hearts and minds to. Robert is grateful and honored to be at Oak Middle School. And most of all, he is excited to see the students at Oak bring music to life, because he is a firm believer that “when we create music, we create meaning.”
published by LosAlamitos on May 24, 2016 - 5:29pm
Each year, the Orange County Department of Education honors the outstanding arts educators throughout the county. LAUSD is home to three of this year’s honorees. McGaugh Art Teacher Terri Epps was given the additional award as the Teacher of the Year for Special Education. The OCMAA awards ceremony took place May 4th at Segerstrom Center. Congratulations all!
Terri Epps- Outstanding Arts Educator for Special Education.
Special EducationTeacher of the Year Award for 2016
Terri Epps is the art teacher at McGaugh Elementary School, where she includes the special education
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