In 2012, Santa Cruz County joined the California Alliance of Arts Education (now CREATE CA) in building a county-wide network of community members, educators, businesses, and parents that advocated for arts education for all students in every school in Santa Cruz County. Our united message conveyed that an investment in arts education is an investment in the well-being of the larger community. We
worked to ensure equity in access to arts education for all K-12 students by closing the gaps in opportunity, particularly in under-resourced schools that serve low-income students and English Language Learners. We focussed our efforts on Pajaro Valley Unified School District, and over the past six years have made great strides in supporting the district in increasing arts funding in their Local Control Accountability Plan, updating their district Arts Plan, hiring over 20 full time equivalent Art and Music teachers, and have supported the implementation of their arts plan goals by providing access to professional development, supplies, programming, and volunteers. We now support 3 district-specific Arts Now Communities ( PVUSD, LOSD, SLVUSD) across our county in order to better engage parents in arts education advocacy at the local level. We convene arts education leaders and stakeholders twice a year to facilitate meaningful dialogue, work through challenges, and provide on-going communications, support, tools, and resources. Our new Arts Now Santa Cruz County mission is:
Creating an environment that generates equity and access to quality arts education for all students in Santa Cruz County public schools. And our Vision is that:
Every Santa Cruz County School District has an active community of advocates supporting powerful core arts curriculum and programs. If you are interested in more information, or would like to get involved, please contact: [email protected]
