Board Member

SEATS AVAILABLE: 1

School District: LAUSD – District 4

Position Seeking: Board Member

Question 1: Please share a meaningful experience you had with art (visual, dance, drama, music, media arts) while growing up and its impact on you.

I grew up in a very artistic family; my mother is a photojournalist and my father is a writer for television shows so I was fortunate enough to have an early exposure to the arts. Throughout middle school and high school I was in numerous productions, but I rarely had major parts. I was never particularly talented, but I always enjoyed myself and benefited from being involved. My senior year in high school I decided to give up sports to explore my passion for the theater and was the Stage Manager for a production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

This was one of the most rewarding experiences of my formative years. I thrived in the fast paced environment of the theatre and loved the build up to the show. When we successfully executed all of the stage cues it was extremely satisfying and I was proud of the role that I had played in making the production successful. It is so important that we give students opportunities like the one I had to further their educational and artistic development.

Question 2: How can arts education support student outcomes such as English language development, reducing the achievement gap, and preparing youth for college and/or meaningful careers?

In any school district–but especially one the size of LAUSD–students possess a broad array of talents. It is my belief that we need to give students every opportunity to explore their passions and develop their creativity. Investing in the arts provides more than just an opportunity for creative expression; through the arts, students learn leadership skills, expand their vocabularies, explore other cultures and languages, cultivate their creativity, and build confidence. Our students need these opportunities today so they can be active citizens of our democracy tomorrow.

We want the students of the LAUSD to be able to do more than simply regurgitate facts. A well rounded education in the arts is vital to the development of a critical and engaged mind, and helps prepare students for college and beyond. It is my belief that through strengthening partnerships with local artists, galleries, and venues we will be able to provide more opportunities for students in the arts and develop communities in the process. The research suggests that strong arts programs make students more likely to stay in schools and we should do everything we can to keep our students in the classrooms.

We have to find ways to integrate arts into other classes to help reduce the achievement gap. Dozens of studies show that if students are engaged in artistic endeavors it improves their graduation rates. During my time as an English teacher at Markham I saw firsthand how integrating the curricula with poetry and song lyrics segments helps student engagement.

Question 3: What do you think the role of the School Board should be in ensuring that students have continued access to a broad range of study subjects, including the arts (broadly defined)?

I think the School Board needs to begin by ensuring that every school has fully staffed arts and music departments. Los Angeles is the creative capital of the world and the fact that some schools do not even have an art or music program is unacceptable. We need to provide our students with every opportunity–scientific, technological, artistic, and musical–to hone the diversity of talents of Los Angeles schoolchildren.

Introductory art and music classes are not enough. I believe that schools should be equipped to forge advanced arts programs for interested students. Where that becomes impractical on the level of an individual school, the LAUSD Board should come together with school administrators to provide district-wide opportunities for advanced and interested students. That way, we can unite our resources efficiently in order to provide the best and most convenient options for all our students and their families.

Question 4: Do you see a role for arts education in the development of district Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs)? If so, how would you hope to use arts education to advance the eight priority areas identified in the LCAP template?

Performing and visual arts already feature prominently in the LCAP template, which provides a foundation on which we must build. First, access is a critical component of the arts, of LCAPs, and my platform. While providing full K-12 arts programs at every school may not be achievable, I am confident we can unite the resources of the district to make performing and visual arts opportunities available to every level of student in the LAUSD. Second, the performing and visual arts programs provide important opportunities for parent and community engagement. Through performing and visual arts, parents and students can make decisions together about future endeavors, and arts performances and exhibitions are great ways to draw parents and community members into schools. Finally, the arts play a significant role in increasing student retention rates by providing additional mentorship opportunities for students and teachers. These are just three examples of the role arts play in the eight-point LCAP template. The bottom line is that LCAPs are templates for helping communities take control of their schools, and ensuring accountability. I believe that the arts are key to successful schools, and LCAPs provide a foundation on which communities can build successful arts programs.

School District: LAUSD – District 4

Position Seeking: Board Member

Question 1: Please share a meaningful experience you had with art (visual, dance, drama, music, media arts) while growing up and its impact on you.

The arts saved my life as an at-risk teenager. Our theater teacher Mike Mucci literally found me and forced me into my first play when I was 16. They play was called The Hasty Heart and we took it all the way to the Massachusetts State Drama finals. The truth is that I wasn't a very good actor. But in the moment of taking on the voice of another I was able to find my own voice. I was in every high school play from that moment forward. Theater gave me a reason to be sober and a reason to come to school. In fact, it was the first time I had known success at school. My story is not unique but in this moment the stakes are so much higher for students in LAUSD and there are so many Mike Mucci's out there who change life trajectories through arts education.

Question 2: How can arts education support student outcomes such as English language development, reducing the achievement gap, and preparing youth for college and/or meaningful careers?

I believe that arts education is the critical level for so many students to access the common core, perfect their multilingualism and prepare to be fully ready for college and career. Holistic arts education from early elementary school (or before) allows students to access their creative energies and can unleash success in ways that static forms of learning cannot. Research around Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences and learning modalities teaches us that musical, visual and rhythmic intelligences are real and need to be fostered in ever more creative ways in the classroom. It is no accident that schools that have comprehensive arts education programs have higher student outcomes in every measurable area. This is why LAUSD established arts education as a core academic subject area. We need to ensure that arts as an "extra curricular or elective" is part of our history and not part of our present. Finally, we need to understand that Los Angeles is the entertainment capitol of the world and that the industry could be a better job engine for our students if we invested the right ways. For LAUSD this means investing in and expanding our linked learning partnerships with all aspects of the entertainment industry. Linked learning establishes partnerships, internships, and job training programs related to our arts education programs.

Question 3: What do you think the role of the School Board should be in ensuring that students have continued access to a broad range of study subjects, including the arts (broadly defined)?

The LAUSD School Board must continue its leadership role in ensuring that Arts Education is a right for all students not a privilege for the affluent or the lucky. establishing arts education as a core academic area, fully fund comprehensive arts education and ensure that this funding remains on an arts equity index so that students living in the worst conditions of poverty are prioritized to the first available resources. We also need to continue strategic investments in arts instructional pipelines to make sure that an instrumental, dance or visual arts trajectory that is started in elementary school continues through middle and high school. The Board needs to ensure that credentialed arts education teachers are at the heart of instruction and investment, but that there is a vibrant arts partnership with organizations throughout Los Angeles County and that these relationships can be fostered through the district itself eliminating red tape and facilitating relationships between teachers and organizations.

Question 4: Do you see a role for arts education in the development of district Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs)? If so, how would you hope to use arts education to advance the eight priority areas identified in the LCAP template?

I absolutely see a role for Arts Education in the LCAP development process. LAUSD already references the Arts Equity Index in the LCFF and the LCAP roll out and families are made aware of investments in the Arts as part of the districts overall commitment to equity. Arts Education investments are also critical to the LCAP priorities as they allow for increased access to literacy and English language development as well as fostering socio-emotional well being and alternatives to punitive discipline. Because we are making Arts Equity investments along the lines of the Equity Index, this template mirrors the overall equity index we are developing for schools to distribute supplemental and concentration grant funding. As we continue to decentralize the budgeting process and empower school communities it is my hope that investments in arts education will be viewed as a lever for transforming education outcomes

School District: LAUSD – District 4

Position Seeking: Board Member

Question 1: Please share a meaningful experience you had with art (visual, dance, drama, music, media arts) while growing up and its impact on you.

I was an artist starting at a very young age – drawing and painting. I often submitted drawings to my local newspaper and would win the Junior Artist of the Month contest. I received praise for my works and acknowledgement from my community. The positive reinforcement helped build my confidence.
My mom did not want us watching television and would let us paint and draw on all the walls of our cellar (yes, we had a cellar here in Southern California). It was a creative outlet for me at a time that was a bit turbulent. To this day, I am asked to make homemade cards and watercolors for friends and family. Art is and has been a therapeutic way for me.

Question 2: How can arts education support student outcomes such as English language development, reducing the achievement gap, and preparing youth for college and/or meaningful careers?

Art education programs can help strengthen communication, critical thinking, public speaking and creative skills of our students. Through the development of these skills, our students will be able to build a confidence using the tools they learned. There is strong research that art based activities can teach a students essential language skills. “According to the California Arts Council, arts education:
*21st century workforce – Creativity is the #1 attribute sought by today’s employers
* Academic achievement – A student involved in the arts is four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement.
*Attendance – Arts engagement results in higher attendance and lower dropout rates.
*College readiness – Low-income students with high arts engagement are more than twice as likely to graduate college as their peers with no arts education.
*Jobs – Ten percent of California jobs are part of the creative industries.
* Economic growth ‚Äì The creative industries account for 7.8% of California’s GDP. .
*Workforce contributions ‚Äì California’s creative industries employ 1.4 million workers who earn $99.3 billion in annual income.
*Cross-cultural harmony – The arts help people express values, feel empathy, and triumph over their differences.
* Health care – Arts’ healing benefits result in shorter hospital stays and better pain management; music therapy helps stroke and head injury patients regain their ability to speak.“

Question 3: What do you think the role of the School Board should be in ensuring that students have continued access to a broad range of study subjects, including the arts (broadly defined)?

It is the School Board’s responsibility to ensure that all graduates of LAUSD can qualify to enter a state college or university (Cal State or UC). A full year of art is required for the Cal States and UCs. For many students, art may be there only connection to school. My youngest son is studying photography at Art Center College of Design. He did not appreciate high school until an inspirational photography instructor in high school lit up his world.
I have had the privilege to chair and found an annual fundraising event for our local high school marching band with over one hundred students.
If elected, I will fight to for public expenditures for education programs/assistance to continue to grow. Afterschool programs, creative arts classes, youth prevention programs and sports classes should be well funded because they are integral to shaping our students and sharpening various skill sets.
Wanting to support ALL kids, I have spent the last 18 years working at public schools. I have been a governing board member at Palisades Elementary, Paul Revere Charter Middle School and PCHS. PCHS has 3000 students from 100 zip codes representing the culturally rich and diverse demographics of Los Angeles. This school has a $30 million budget and negotiates with PALI-UTLA, a bargaining unit for teachers. The Board is comprised of members ranging from educators, students, parents and lawyers to financial experts. With differing backgrounds, members share opinions, take action, and allocate resources based on students’ needs first.

Question 4: Do you see a role for arts education in the development of district Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs)? If so, how would you hope to use arts education to advance the eight priority areas identified in the LCAP template?

There is a definite role for arts education in the development of the district Local Control Accountability Plan. The research supporting ELL advancement scores and the integration of arts is substantial justifying allocation of monies. Regarding the eight priority areas of the LCAP template, the following categories are directly related to the advancement of the arts: Pupil content; pupil outcomes; pupil engagement; parental involvement; and implementation of academic content. Each category can connect to art instruction.

City: LAUSD – District 4
Position Seeking: Board Member

Question 1: Please share a meaningful experience you had with art (visual, dance, drama, music, media arts) while growing up and its impact on you.

Question 2: How can arts education support student outcomes such as English language development, reducing the achievement gap, and preparing youth for college and/or meaningful careers?

Question 3: What do you think the role of the School Board should be in ensuring that students have continued access to a broad range of study subjects, including the arts (broadly defined)?

Question 4: Do you see a role for arts education in the development of district Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs)? If so, how would you hope to use arts education to advance the eight priority areas identified in the LCAP template?