The arts are the canary in the educational coal mine.  When they suffer and die, it's a sign that the atmosphere is life-threatening and that education as a whole is at risk.

Arts programs in schools all over the county have been under threat during the recent state funding cutbacks.  The Alameda County Office of Education, under my leadership, has responded vigorously and effectively.  With the theme Art IS Education, we have launched a series of initiatives to attract additional funding, coordinate and energize existing resources, and involve more students, teachers, administrators, and community leaders in strengthening these vital endeavors. 

We recently won a quarter-million dollar grant from the Ford Foundation for arts education in the public schools.  Read details here.

As a symbol of our commitment to arts education for all, we commissioned a 14-foot tall student-designed and student-built sculpture in honor of civil rights leader Cesar Chavez, unveiled in May 2005. Read about it here. 

I spoke out for the arts on Art IS Education Day in Piedmont March 31 '06.  Read more.

Please click to the Alameda County Office of Education's official website for details about what we have accomplished and what we are doing:

• Art IS Education Overview
• Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership -- a countywide network of teachers, administrators, and arts learning professionals to advance art learning for all children in the county.  Read my guest commentary in The Montclarion March 10 2006 on this project.
• County Board of Education resolution on arts education and three-year arts education strategic plan.
• Model Arts Program Network -- creating arts teams and collaborating with arts organizations to expand arts opportunities in participating districts.
• Demonstration projects, galleries, and other resources.

In May 2005 I spoke about the importance of the arts in a video interview with Jack Hanson on Comcast.  View it here. 

Sabrina Klein, Executive Director of the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts and a valued leader in the Art Is Education effort, was kind enough to express her appreciation and support in a letter.  Read it here (PDF).

For an example of how making art can help students benefit their communities and raise money at the same time, click to "Cool Art Benefits Local Charities."

Key to our arts education work has been our success in attracting sponsorship from the US Department of Education, the California Department of Education, the Ford Foundation, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the San Francisco Foundation, the California Alliance for Arts Education, Wells Fargo, the ANG Newspapers, the Alameda County Art Commission, and Model Arts Program Network Districts.

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