Budget cuts to public education have resulted in a reduction and, in many instances, the elimination of arts and music in K-12 education, even as studies show that students who study the arts have higher academic success. Immersion in the arts increase a child’s brain capacity to think in abstraction, make intuitive leaps, and solve complex problems in original ways. As a result, students experience higher test scores, improved school performance, and lower drop-out rates. Beyond the pragmatic benefit that arts and music provide, there is the sheer joy of being able to learn how to play an instrument, write a song, draw a picture, or simply express one’s artistic creativity.
Unfortunately, the good ideas teachers have to enrich the curriculum for students to make it relevant, engaging, or interesting are often thwarted by lack of funds and professional development.
In response to this need, the Ed Fund focused its early efforts on providing mini-grants to teachers to offset the loss of public dollars. Since 1983, the Ed Fund has awarded $2 million in grants to parents and educators.
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Through a generous bequest by Brad Bradley, this year the focus area for the Ed Fund’s grants program is in support of the development of arts and music programs for West Contra Costa County Unified School District students. The Ed Fund is pleased to announce that it will be awarding approximately $27,500 to the following Arts & Music Impact Grants for 2014-2015:
Creative Schools Initiative, Downey Elementary School
Their aim is to strengthen professional development around arts integration with their teachers so they will be able to bring meaningful instructional strategies into their classrooms to improve student outcomes in academics and socioemotional learning. This grant will support Phase I of III in their multi-year transition to becoming a creative arts school.
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STEAM Integrated Art Program, Washington Elementary School The goal of the program is to deliver art education to Washington Elementary students via a high-quality, integrated arts model. All students will receive weekly art instruction from Richmond Art Center teaching artists. The Richmond Art Center’s award-winning STEAM program highlights Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math in various art media and is aligned with the visual arts and Common Core Standards.
Youth Chorus, Mira Vista Elementary School
While the West Contra Costa Unified School District has been able to restore some instrumental programs, music remains unavailable to every child. Oakland Youth Chorus’ goal is to develop an accessible after school K-8 choral program that increases musical skills and confidence, connects school and community through performance, and supports students’ socio-emotional learning.
Performing Arts Professional Connections, El Cerrito High School
El Cerrito High School’s Performing Arts Department has a long-term goal of becoming a Conservatory. Developing a Conservatory requires student and staff access to highly-specialized professional artists, and opportunities for professional development and leadership. Exposure to arts professionals will give high quality learning experiences that will promote our students’ arts interests while Performing Arts staff participate in best practices.
Dance Your Way Festival, West Contra Costa Unified School District District dance students and their teachers need to build a sense of community and connection. The goal of the Dance Your Way Festival is to bring District dance programs together to share a day of learning and performing. They will learn new styles of dance from expert teachers and about local university dance programs and they will share the stage together in a showcase performance. This pilot festival will build a collaborative dance community in the West Contra Costa Unified School District.
Silkscreening – A Business Within a School, John F. Kennedy High School
The needs this program addresses are technical experience and hands on training in silk screen production. John F. Kennedy High School will offer a class that will give students the ability to design images for clients using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and then take that image to the screen for production. The overall goal for this program is for it to be a business within a school, and take care of all Kennedy printing.
The awardees will be recognized by the West Contra Costa Unified School District board of trustees at the next meeting on December 10 at 6:30pm at the DeJean Middle School Multipurpose Room, 3400 Macdonald Avenue in Richmond.
The Ed Fund, West Contra Costa’s Public Education Fund, was founded in 1983 in response to the decline in funding to public education caused by the passage of Proposition 13. The Ed Fund is an education nonprofit serving the entire West Contra Costa Unified School District, which spans the five East Bay cities of Richmond, El Cerrito, Hercules, Pinole and San Pablo. It is committed to providing the funding and strategic partnerships needed to close the opportunity and achievement gap for our students. www.edfundwest.org.
