Studies have shown that the arts provide lifetime benefits and are unsurpassed in their ability to engage students in learning and empower them to make a change in our world.
ArtsOC is a proud and vigorous advocate for arts education. We partner with local, state and national organizations that include the Orange County Department of Education, the California Alliance for Arts Education and CreateCA to ensure arts education programs remain strong in our schools and to connect children, especially from underserved communities, with the arts.
Laguna Playhouse’s Theatereach curriculum-based touring production of “By the Great Horn Spoon” brought into OC elementary schools.
Education Resource Directory
The following are links to arts education associations, foundations, and other arts resources of interest to educators.
- American Choral Directors Association - https://acda.org
- Arts Resource Center - https://teachingartists.com/what-is-a-teaching-artist/
- California Art Education Association - https://www.caea-arteducation.org/
- California Arts Council - https://arts.ca.gov/
- California County Superintendents Arts Initiative - https://cacountyarts.org/
- California Dance Education Association - https://www.cdeadance.org/
- California Department of Education - https://www.cde.ca.gov/
- California Educational Theater Association (CETA) - https://www.catheatreed.org/
- California Music Educators Association - www.calmusiced.com
- California State PTA's School SMARTS Program - https://capta.org/programs-events/school-smarts-2/
- California Subject Matter Project - https://csmp.online/
- Create CA - https://createca.org/
- Digital Resources Library from the Kennedy Center (formerly Arts Edge) - https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/
- Getty Foundation - https://www.getty.edu/education/
- The National Association for Music Education - www.musicfriends.org
- Orange County Cappies - https://ocde.us/EducationalServices/CurriculumInstructionandAcademicEnrichment/ArtsAdvantage/Pages/Orange-County-Cappies.aspx
- Orange County Department of Education - https://ocde.us/Pages/Home.aspx
- Orange County Lingual Institute - https://www.oclanguages.com
- Orange County Music and Arts Administrators - https://ocde.us/EducationalServices/CurriculumInstructionandAcademicEnrichment/ArtsAdvantage/Pages/Orange-County-Music-and-Arts-Administrators.aspx
- OCDE Inside the Outdoors Distance Learning - https://ocde.us/ito/Pages/Distance-Learning.aspx
- OCDE VAPA Parents' Guide -http://downloads.capta.org/arts/VAPAGuide_FULL.pdf
- Parents’ Guide to the Visual and Performing Arts in California Public Schools - https://capta.org/resource/parents-guide-to-arts-education-in-public-schools-vapa-guide/
- SCFTA Arts Teach - https://www.scfta.org/education-community-programs/programs-for-schools/artsteach
- Southern California Vocal Association - www.scvachoral.org
- Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association - www.scsboa.org
- TheaterSeatStore's Glossary of Visual Art Terms - https://www.theaterseatstore.com/blog/visual-arts-glossary
- Orange County Arts and Disability - https://ocde.us/OCArtsandDisability/Pages/default.aspx
Arts Now Parent Advocate Program
ArtsOC, in partnership with CREATE CA and the Orange County Department of Education, works to sustain Orange County as an Arts Now community.
The Arts Now Communities program is a statewide network of arts education advocates who participate in professional development and local arts education coalition building. The goal of the program is to increase public funding for, access to and participation in arts education, regardless of zip code, race, gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic status.
Specific goals include:
- Support the development of district and county arts plans
- Provide education about how districts can use arts strategies to improve outcomes for low incomes students through LCFF and the Title I program
- Empower community members to advocate for arts education through Arts Now Communities
- Promote student voices in school decision-making and arts education advocacy
The Arts Now Communities program provides technical assistance, leadership training, professional development, communications support, a statewide network and stipends to help pursue advocacy objectives.
Arts Orange County is currently seeking parent advocates in these districts:
Brea Olinda
Buena Park
Fullerton
Garden Grove
Huntington Beach
La Habra
Lowell Joint Unified
Ocean View
Tustin
Westminster
For more information on this program and to learn more about becoming an Arts Now parent advocate in an open district, contact Karen Ahola at kahola@artsoc.org.