Fall 2013 Arts & Culture Candidate Survey Results
Fall 2013 Arts & Culture Candidate Survey Results
Arts for LA surveyed 177 candidates in 31 school board elections this fall as part of our semiannual Arts & Culture Candidate Survey program.
Arts for LA Releases School Board Arts & Culture Candidate Surveys
Arts for LA Releases School Board Arts & Culture Candidate Surveys
With an estimated $5.3 billion in educational funding set to invigorate California’s schools due to Proposition 30, school board leaders will be tasked with setting the priorities and direction for their schools’ future. To help spark dialogue around arts and education issues, Arts for LA has distributed Arts & Culture Candidate Surveys to every eligible candidate for election in 33 school district races throughout Lo
Fall 2013 Arts & Culture Candidate Surveys: Hermosa Beach City School District
As part of its work to connect voters and candidates, Arts for LA presents these Arts & Culture Candidate Surveys to promote dialogue around issues related to arts education and its benefits.
Survey responses provided by each candidate are for voter information purposes only. Arts for LA does not endorse candidates seeking office. We are committed to fostering respectful, nonpartisan dialogue about issues relating to arts and culture. For more information, please read about our mission and values or our FAQ.
All eligible candidates were contacted to participate in the survey. If you would like to submit new or revise existing responses, please contact Arts for LA at [email protected] or 213-225-7580.
The California Alliance for Arts Education and LA2050 served as Regional Partners by promoting Arts & Culture Candidate Surveys throughout Los Angeles County.
Elections for Hermosa Beach City School District will be held on Tuesday, November 5.
2 seats are available in this election. Elections are at large; voters may vote for any of the eligible candidates in this election.
For more information on where to vote, visit the Los Angeles County Clerk/Registrar-Recorder’s Office website.
If a candidate has not yet responded, please click on the candidate's name below to invite the candidate via email to participate.
Candidate order: Carleen R. Beste, Margaret Rose Bove-Lamonica, Jim Caldwell, Mary K. Campbell, Douglas T. Gneiser, Michael D. Goodhue, James Scott, Seth Weiss
Question 1: Tell us about a meaningful experience you had with art (visual, dance, drama, music) while growing up?
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My senior year of high school I participated in a capstone art class, and our teacher gave us keys to the lab, so we could come in and work on projects as our schedules permitted. Those keys were symbolic not only of the trust shown to us but also to in our ability to take ownership of our art and creativity.
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I grew up dancing ballet (and other dance forms) starting at age six and daily by the age of 12 through 21. Dancing and performing was my main identity all the way through my colleges years and, thus, provided me with multiple meaningful experiences - some of the most profound in my lifetime. Dance gave me discipline, physical and mental strength and acuity, confidence, artful self-expression, an appreciation for many forms of music, and an awareness of true beauty. I completely credit my deep dance experiences to the person I became.
My favorite school memories are associated with what schools now call "enrichment" experiences but we just called "chorus," "band," and "theater." I sang in or attended every concert and show in my public schools. Those classes were as much a part of the ordinary curriculum as English and Math class, and the performances were just as celebrated as competitive sports. Communities once understood that schools were important public forums for children (and their families) to grow in broader cultural experiences; we need to return to investing in those enrichment experiences.
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Question 2: What role do you think creativity can play in supporting key priorities of the district, such as reducing the dropout rate, closing the achievement gap, and preparing more students for college eligibility and/or meaningful careers?
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It is frustrating when parents, teachers, administrators see creative outlets as an either/or instead of a both/and opportunity for academic and personal growth and enrichment. Gardner's multiple intelligences theory demonstrates that there are many ways for people to engage with material and learn. Many of our students who are unsuccessful in traditional learning settings are some of our most creative - our curriculum and pedagogy must be adapted to meet students' needs.
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Fostering and nurturing creative capacity in developing children can have a profound impact on many areas of their lives. In balances out the heavy emphasis on left brain operations by accessing right brain functioning which leads to more optimal whole brain capacity and adeptness. This is not only helpful in optimizing academic achievement and student engagement, it can help to prepare students to ultimately succeed in an integrated world where abstract and complex thinking are increasingly needed and dominant. Finally, increasing creativity and play into the educational process contributes to more joyful, self-expressed, people who can be great local and global citizens.
Communities once understood that schools were important public forums for children (and their families) to grow in broader cultural experiences. We need to return to investing in those enrichment experiences. When asked about their favorite school experiences, very few people will eagerly recall their favorite English class or algebra lesson -- but they do energetically recall their enrichment classes and how they worked hard in school to retain their eligibility to perform. It is in those classes that students learn about themselves, and begin to select electives that define who they are as distinct from other classmates. The arts help us learn foreign languages and about different cultures as we see artwork and hear voices across history and geography.
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Question 3: Your district has embarked on an initiative to restore meaningful sequential arts education into its core curriculum. What do you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of the plan?
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Art curriculum is often perceived as being extraneous to common academic pursuits, so it is incumbent on school officials to emphasize the potential for integration into a common education experience. Art curriculum is just one lens a school can use to teach content and skills. For example academic skills, like research methods, can be directed towards an art field. Similarly, “the arts” are a multi-faceted field that can use science and math to analyze force and movement in dance, or the technology behind electronic arts. The weakness of an initiative is common misperception and costs associated with training stakeholders in the necessary pedagogy.
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I'm currently learning about the plan, but the strength is that they have one!
The California budget debacle has left few districts with the wherewithal to fully incorporate the arts back into the rightful places in our curriculum. So I support any initiative to start returning enrichment classes to our core curriculum, even if it is less than ideal.
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Question 4: How can your district make your arts education plan and its progress on the plan more visible to parents and leaders in your community?
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Engaging stakeholders in the progress and development of the school and it’s students is critical to showing the value of the arts in the education of the whole person. While the arts can be showcased on their own – through a performance or an exhibit – it is also important to demonstrate how they can be interwoven into everyday curriculum and schedules. To accomplish this habit, art work – like class work – must be displayed regularly and presented in portfolio format to parents and stakeholders like any other kind of expected school product.
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Ideas: Get local artists more involved in building a city mindset around the arts and their impact on healthy communities and individual citizens. Build programs that benefit all of the citizens so that there is a vibrant presence and essence of the arts and their impact on our individual and collective humanity.
HBCSD is such a small district that we are uniquely positioned to effectively publicize the re-integration of our arts programs. That said, our Administrators need to create time for public performances and displays in the regular educational schedule -- not just as after-school programs.
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Question 5: In light of the new funding structure for school districts in the state (i.e. the Local Control Funding Formula), how do you see arts education aligning with the eight new priority areas?
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The new LCFF permits more autonomy and accountability at the most local of school levels. This responsibility requires that there is stakeholder engagement and evaluation of spending plans - oversight will be monitored under the accountability plan. Because of this oversight, it is critical that school stakeholders make a strong case for arts education within the curriculum. The common core presents an opportunity to highlight arts because of its emphasis on creativity and critical thinking - areas that lend themselves well to art education and inquiry based learning.
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I did not have the time to research the funding priorities prior to the deadline for this survey, but my general thoughts are: - New common core curriculum standards are intended to help prepare students to be more capable to meet the demands of the current and future environment (creativity, collaboration, communication, critical thinking). Immersion in the arts can, arguably, be a positive impact on all of these priorities!
Under the current funding formula, HBCSD will never have sufficient funds to fully absorb arts education into our curriculum, as such. However, our School Board needs to make all enrichment activities, with arts education at the forefront, one of our highest priorities. Schools are just locations where teachers and students come together to create an educational experience, yet it is the arts that provide the ambient color and sound that make the experience so special.
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