A CLEAR Voz

 

 

“Impacting Educational Reform thru Social Change”

 

In last month’s edition of “A CLEAR Voz” I shared with you that the Center for Leadership, Equity, and Research advisory group recently determined that we should focus on addressing two specific areas of need as action items in our equity strand; music and art in our schools, or the lack thereof, and informing foster parents and foster children of the importance of cultural relevancy as it pertains to their special relationships.

Since then, I have had the opportunity to meet with, or communicate with, various educational leaders throughout the state as it pertains to our first action item: music and art in our schools. The passion and knowledge among those active in this area is amazing. I was quite unaware of the movement already present to integrate the arts as part of the daily school curriculum.

Let me be honest; I have virtually no ability to play a musical instrument (although I made an attempt to play a clarinet in the school band earlier in my life) and I certainly have very limited artistic talent. Nevertheless, CLEAR was developed to address issues of equity and access where they are present…and this is certainly an area we intend to assist in.

Not long ago I was invited to attend a gathering of the Fresno Arts Network, who are described as “a professional learning community of educators, artists, and community members collaborating to create equity and access to a high quality arts education for every student, in every school, every day – www.teacharts.org .“ At this gathering I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Victoria Stevens (www.victoriastevens.com) present on the value of providing meaningful arts learning for students. By the end of her presentation I was convinced that this is a subject all educators need to learn more about. I certainly am…

 

Best Always,

Ken