Leighton M. Anderson

City: Whittier Union High
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.

As a high school student, i participated in a class that attended the LA Opera and stage production of plays (classic and modern) at Cal State Fullerton. These greatly expanded my cultural horizons.

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?

Arts education engages students in artistic applications of language arts and even mathematics, especially in music and in artistic design.

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)?

School boards, especially those responsible for high school age students, should be sure that the curriculum includes exposure to and opportunity to participate in the arts.

Question 4: In light of the Local Control Funding Formula and development of district Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs), what are your creative solutions for achieving goals in the eight priority areas?

Arts education can and should be a key component in the course Access, Pupil Engagement, Parent Engagement and Pupil Achievement areas. Parents engage with their students more in the arts than in any other activity area, even including athletics. Enrichment in course access should include the whole range of music, visual, written and other art forms. Through arts education, student enrichment will support ELA and social science curriculum and even extend into STEM classwork (so that STEM becomes STEAM).