This morning, I sat in one of the most inspiring spaces in our District Office.  What for many years had been a neglected storage area for musical instruments, had been transformed into a professional learning space whose purpose was now to remind us all that creativity and attention to design are essential professional competencies.  The arts are not simple elective courses or curricular add-ons, but rather serve as fundamental elements of a rigorous core academic program.  Even the storage function of the space had been redesigned to enhance inventory management and provide quicker student and teacher access to instruments and arts materials.

As I sat in the newly designed center for the arts and athletics, I was surrounded by members of our SAUSD community – students, parents, community partners, teachers, & support staff – all coming together to reflect on our progress towards the implementation of our district strategic arts plan – a plan approved and championed by a Board of Education that has emphasized access to the arts for all students.  The collective desire to deepen the work was palpable.

It felt like a celebratory moment.  Five years ago, our Board adopted its first ever strategic arts plan.  There was plenty to reflect on as evidence of success.  From alignment of coursework to new arts standards, to construction of state-of-the-art creative spaces at multiple sites around the district, to the launching of the SanArts conservatory, to the expansion of elementary arts programming, there was much to celebrate.

But, this group clearly wanted to go deeper.  It is a guiding coalition that sees equity of access to the arts as its north star.  And so, the work begins anew to take stock of where we’ve been, celebrate where we’ve grown, and double our resolve to integrate and deepen an arts-enriched and arts-informed learning experience for all of our students.  Over the next three months this VAPA team, under the direction of our coordinator of VAPA, Robyn McNair, will arrange focus groups and listening sessions in order to ensure that the strategic arts plan for the next five years is as inclusive and transformative as the previous one has been.