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Sept. 9, 2019
Happy National Arts in Education Week! The second week of September was designated by Congress in 2010 as the week to celebrate and recognize the essential role the arts play in a complete and balanced education for all students. We know a well-rounded education includes the arts, which empower students to become the best versions of themselves. Arts education prepares students to be global citizens who are ready for the future, including college and career. National Arts in Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the transformative power of the arts in education. Join the social media campaign on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube by using #BecauseOfArtsEd.  

As you are getting settled into the new school year, I would encourage you to take a look at the professional learning opportunities in this newsletter and consider getting involved in your discipline-specific arts education organization. I guarantee you will not regret participating in a new learning experience and sharing your knowledge with others and you will be a better educator for it!

While you’re on Twitter, connect with me ( @PCrooks_VAPA) and others passionate about arts education on our weekly chats every Wednesday from 4 to 4:30 p.m. Whether you’ve never participated in a Twitter chat before or are an expert, please visit this link to see the questions and learn how to join the conversation.

Search #CaArtsEdChat to see previous conversations on the new state arts standards, best practices, and the great things happening in your classes. I’ll see you then!

VAPA Coordinator, SDCOE
858-292-3547
VAPA arts in action professional learning subhead
View the latest visual and performing arts (VAPA) professional learning opportunities or click the links below for the registration page.

Register Today!
Arts Empower San Diego Mega Conference on Oct. 17
Register now to attend the 2019 Arts Empower San Diego Mega Conference on Oct. 17 at Balboa Park. It’s the premier arts education professional learning event for teachers and administrators in San Diego County with more than 50 different breakout sessions, networking, and conversations focused on arts education. 

The Arts Empower Mega Conference is a one-of-a-kind forum that unites teachers of all arts disciplines, elementary multiple-subject teachers, teaching artists, school administrators, and arts organization members. It’s developed in partnership with the county’s arts education organizations and Balboa Park arts and culture institutions. 

Amp Up the Arts and Math in steAM
The connection between math and each of the arts disciplines goes beyond the practical nature of computation to the core of what is truly beautiful about math and the arts. We have designed lessons that integrate the different artistic processes in the new California Arts Standards to enhance and enrich the study of mathematics PK-12. At each session we will gain insight and access to a local creative space, experience a lesson together, and explore how you can continue the work of integrating math and the arts so that they share the leading role in your lessons.

Grades 3-6 Math and Photography: Which One Doesn’t Belong
What makes a set? Join us on a journey to discover which one doesn’t belong, connect photographic arts and geometry, and leave with a lesson design that will change the way you look at the world around you.
  • Date: Oct. 29, 2019
  • Time: 4 to 6 p.m.
  • Registration: Click here to register

Grades 7-9 Math and Art: Statistics and Infographics
Why are infographics so popular? The trend of turning data into an artistic story isn’t a new one, but is gaining in popularity. Discover the power of infographics, as we braid art and statistics together to create a lesson designed to activate and empower your middle school students.
  • Date: Nov. 25, 2019
  • Time: 4 to 6 p.m.
  • Registration: Click here to register

San Diego Area Arts Leadership Community
San Diego Area Arts Leadership Community Mornings
The Morning Community Events engage TK-12 school district arts leaders in professional learning and leadership development focusing on instruction and student learning aligned with the new California Arts Standards. Through collaborative observation, discourse, and reflection, the community aims to build the capacity of arts leaders as they support educators in their school district.

San Diego Area Arts Leadership Community Afternoons
The Afternoon Community Events engage arts leaders in an investigation of arts education topics and current research, to maintain awareness of issues and policies impacting arts education in California. The community provides a system of support for arts leaders as they implement a strategic arts education plan and make systemic change.
 
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New Arts Curriculum Framework Update
The California Department of Education (CDE) is revising the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Framework to incorporate and support the recently approved California VAPA standards. You can join the CDE VAPA Revisions Listserv for the latest information. Also, follow @PCrooks_VAPA and @ArtsEmpowerSD on Twitter for news and updates in arts education.

Draft Framework Recommended to the Instructional Quality Commission
On Aug. 16, the state board-appointed Visual and Performing Arts Curriculum Framework and Evaluation Criteria Committee (VAPA CFCC) completed their work and recommended a draft California Arts Framework for Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade 12 (Arts Framework) to the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC). The VAPA CFCC recommendation culminated seven months of many hours reviewing chapters, engaging in discussions, and recommending edits. It is also important to recognize that their work built upon the work of the VAPA Standards Advisory Committee that worked together to revise the arts standards from February through June 2018. Members of both committees were collaborative, diligent, and collegial, and their efforts are deeply appreciated.

Public Review and Input
The IQC will review the draft Arts Framework and approve it to be posted for public review and input at their Sept. 18 meeting. The draft Arts Framework will then be posted on the California Arts Framework webpage for review in October and be available through Dec. 1. The public review period is critical and arts education stakeholders are encouraged to participate. More information will be distributed when the draft is posted. Let your voice be heard!

Grant Opportunities
Using Music to Teach Mathematics 
As a way to promote music as a way to help elementary school students engage with mathematics, the Mathematics Education Trust, established by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), is offering grants up to $3,000 to pre-K to grade 2 teachers who teach mathematics or collaborate with teachers of mathematics from pre-K to 2nd grade. Grant applications for 2020-21 are currently being accepted. Qualifying teachers must be members of NCTM or teach at schools that are NCTM members as of Oct. 12. 
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The Chaotic Harmony podcast is created for elementary music teachers by elementary music teachers. The podcast chronicles the genesis and continued development of four music programs in Southern California by Crystal Pridmore, Jonathan Seligman, Marc Keehmer, and Zoe Kumagai. Each of these educators is working in schools 5-10 miles from the US-Mexico border in schools, most bearing high rates of poverty. Included, each school from their district had not supported music education programs over the previous three decades. When they first began their programs four or more years ago, they had very limited resources. Some had as little as boomwhackers in a shed. Some were split between multiple schools. Some had no room to teach in. However, the four relied on each other — and the wider music teacher team — to build thriving programs today. The team at Chaotic Harmony shares the daily joys and challenges of teaching music in the elementary school music room, lesson ideas, and lots of laughter and communal support.
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Blindspot Collective
Blindspot Collective, a local theatre company, is bringing San Diego County public schools three unique plays that cultivate a positive school climate. Programs include pre-show workshops and a school-appropriate show brought right to school campuses

"Danny's Story" is touring high schools Dec. 9 to 20. Through role-play and discussion, the show is designed to equip high school youth to advocate for their peers in the midst of conflict, while deepening an understanding of LGBTQ+ youth populations. 

"Safa's Story" is touring elementary and middle Schools Feb. 18 to March 6, 2020. Designed to create dialogue about cultural sensitivity and accepting difference, the show is a rare type of interactive performance that empowers students to stand up for themselves and their peers.

"Untold" is touring high schools April 27 to May 8, 2020. This gripping play weaves music, movement, and the exact words and stories of real people to explore the mental health crisis in America, where it's estimated that 1 in 4 people will struggle with mental illness during their lifetime. 

Equity Conference 2020
Save the date and register for SDCOE’s statewide Equity Conference in January 2020 at the San Diego Convention Center. The event on Jan. 16 and 17 will be a valuable time for county offices, districts, schools, community partners, and parents to collaborate and learn together on how to engage effective, systemic change. This conference brings together nationally recognized speakers and spotlights current research and best practices. The Equity Conference sessions are focused on strengthening our systems to better respond to the linguistic, cultural, social-emotional, and mental health needs of all students, and create the conditions for them to thrive and make healthy choices. 

Arts Integration Lesson Plans Needed!
Are you interested in showcasing an arts integration lesson plan as a part of a book?
My name is Dr. Merryl Goldberg, and I am a professor at California State University San Marcos and director of Center ARTES, a center dedicated to restoring arts to education. I am currently working on the sixth edition of my book Arts Integration Teaching Subject Matter through the Arts in Multicultural Settings (Routledge). The purpose of my book is to provide a practical guide to arts integration and to inspire future teachers and current teachers to venture into the vast possibilities that become available when subject matter is taught through the arts.

I am looking for educators who are interested in providing lesson plans for all content areas, including, but not limited to: social studies, language arts, geography, science, technology, mathematics, arts informing the arts, or thematic (safety, empathy, etc.). The lesson plans must integrate a form of art into subject matter. There is no specific format for the lesson plans, but we do ask that you include the following:

Teacher name:
School name:
Grade:
Content standards:

The lesson plans will be carefully looked over and selected to go hand in hand with the corresponding section of the book. All submissions are to be submitted to: artopp@csusm.edu by Dec. 15. Please be sure to include your email and phone number with your submission so that we are able to contact you about your submission. Thank you all for your time. I look forward to reading your lesson plans.


Please also check out the research-based resources for “why art?” here:
Cygnet Student Matinees 2019 - 20
Cygnet Theatre's 17th Season is our 7th of Community Engagement:
  • 4 student matinees of Virgin Trual — US premiere Oct. 2
  • A Christmas Carol — Dec. 4
  • The Great Leap — Jan. 29
  • La Cages Aux Folles — April 8
Accessible Strategies for Teaching Artists
This presentation, facilitated by National Disability Theatre's co-founders Talleri A. McRae and Mickey Rowe, is designed for teaching artists to address the following questions:
  • How do we universally design intentionally inclusive lessons that consider accessibility as a guiding structure?
  • How do we prepare to work with specific populations, and specific students with disabilities?
  • What does access and inclusion look like in an arts classroom?
  • How do we embrace the necessity of "trial and error" in revising and refining our accessible lessons?
If you have any questions or comments about Arts in Action , plea se contact Pauline Crooks .
Get up-to-the-minute information about what's happening at SDCOE and in our districts across the county.