Loma Verde in Novato To Receive Walker Rezaian Creative HeArts Kindergarten Arts Program

Youth in Arts and the Walker Rezaian Creative HeArts Fund have announced the selection of Loma Verde Elementary School as the recipient of the 2013-14 Walker Rezaian Creative HeArts Kindergarten Arts Program.

The program, which celebrates 5-year-old Walker Rezaian’s life and love for the arts, will provide all Loma Verde kindergarteners professional instruction in the visual arts. Teachers and parents will also receive special trainings from Youth in Arts. A culminating exhibit of student work will be hosted at YIA Gallery in downtown San Rafael in April-May 2014. A special school community open-house will be held during the run of the exhibit. 

Loma Verde will also share work from the program at their school and district offices, in classroom newsletters,  grade level websites and at the school’s annual International Potluck Dinner. Principal Eileen Smith says Loma Verde parents have greeted this opportunity “with great enthusiasm—they are highly motivated to facilitate this program.”

Loma Verde serves a diverse student population, including a significant percentage of students from low-income families. Says Smith, “We have never had funds available to support a formal visual arts program such as this,” adding that the program will help English Language Learners and economically disadvantaged students “express themselves more deeply and feel more an integral part of our school community.”

The Creative HeArts curriculum focuses on the theme of “Friendship,” an appropriate tribute to Walker, who touched so many lives in his Mill Valley community with his loving and outgoing personality.

“We are very honored to be working on this project,” said Youth in Arts Executive Director Miko Lee. “Walker’s family has been directly involved in designing the program, and it was important to all of us that we create something with a lasting impact. It’s not just something for these children in their kindergarten year. It’s setting them on the path towards always having the arts in their lives, and having that supported by their teachers and families.” 

The Walker Rezaian Creative HeArts Fund is a project of the Walker Rezaian Memorial Fund. Youth in Arts is a nonprofit established in 1970. The leading arts education nonprofit in the North Bay, Youth in Arts offers students experiences and instruction in the visual and performing arts, and enriches the community with cultural events.