In their work to uncover new, sustainable biofuels, The Boeing Company relies on the creativity of its workforce. Innovators at Boeing have identified algae as a possible biofuel that could lower carbon emissions for airplanes. That’s one reason why Sarah Murr, a Global Corporate Citizenship Community Investor for Boeing and a Board Member of the California Alliance, travelled to Sacramento to speak to lawmakers about the importance of a creative workforce - not only for companies like Boeing, but for the future of our state in the global economy.

“The challenge is that we have a skills shortage not a labor shortage -- especially with unemployment rates where they are,” says Murr, “We have a shortage of people with the skills for the jobs that are needed in an increasingly dynamic and competitive marketplace.” Murr delivered her message at a hearing before the Joint Committee on the Arts organized by Senator Curren Price and in sit down meetings with key legislators and members of the Governor’s staff arranged by the California Alliance.

According to Murr, “Providing comprehensive arts education programs as early as pre-school will help future generations of creative thinkers and problem solvers who will invent the next life-changing products or services – be it algae for biofuel, new lightweight materials for airplanes or something we can’t yet imagine.”

This week we learned that, after thirty-five years with the Boeing Company, Sarah Murr will be retiring in July. Those who have worked with her on arts education issues will greet this news with a mixture of gratitude, for all she has contributed, and apprehension, for all we are losing. At a time when corporate relationships to the needs of the broader community are evolving, Sarah Murr, with the support of the Boeing Corporation, has blazed a trail of unprecedented involvement and commitment to the well being and education of California's children. I invite you to learn more about the potential of corporate citizenship and the meaning of leadership in the words of Sarah's testimony.

Right now, California is one of a handful of states that has resisted using federal Title 1 funds for arts education.

Despite evidence that arts education contributes to lower drop out rates and higher academic achievement, which are the stated goals of the Title 1 program, California education leadership has failed to support Title 1 funding for arts education and at-risk students in our state are going without.

Read California Alliance for Arts Education Executive Director Joe Landon’s letter to the editor to learn more.

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.”

California Alliance Board Chair Mark Slavkin, was one of the featured speakers at TEDx Manhattan Beach on October 22, 2011. He described how the No Child Left Behind law has narrowed the curriculum and made it more difficult to provide quality arts education programs. He proposed the development of a new “creativity index” to hold schools accountable for more than just math and reading test scores. Watch the video.

The Alliance is working to broaden school assessments with the introduction of SB 789 (Price), the Creative and Innovation Education Index. This index would provide a tangible way to measure and inspire opportunities for creativity and innovation in our public schools.

In a state where creativity and innovation have been so critical to our economic strength, the bill affirms that California remains a leader in forging a path to the future for its students. A similar “Creative Challenge Index” has been signed into law in Massachusetts and is under consideration in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Illinois. Read more about the Creativity Index.