Arts Education Strategic Plan for El Dorado County
Arts and Culture El Dorado will develop and present a countywide Arts Education Strategic Plan in partnership with the El Dorado County Office of Education. This plan, when completed, will allow EDCOE and El Dorado County to join the cohort of 34 California counties with a countywide arts education plan either in place or in progress.
Drawing on several leadership networks in the arts and arts education, and using its experience in strategic planning and the development of community-based initiatives, Arts and Culture El Dorado will work closely with the El Dorado County Office of Education and an Advisory Committee to create a plan that will enable access to the creative process for all El Dorado County students.
The arts are a major area of human cognition, one of the ways in which we know about the world and express our knowledge. Much of what is said in the arts cannot be said in another way. To withhold artistic means of understanding is as much a malpractice as to withhold mathematics...Since schools traditionally develop only linguistic and logical/mathematical skills, they are missing an enormous opportunity to develop the whole child.
--Howard Gardner, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Why a Countywide Plan?
The purpose of system-wide planning in arts education is to:
-Improve access to arts education for all California students through a planning process that engages constituents and community members;
-Identify strengths, gaps, challenges and opportunities to create a well-articulated system of arts education from PK-12th grade and beyond;
-Identify, cultivate, and empower arts education leadership among the diverse spectrum of community members and sectors charged with implementing equitable arts education in schools, after-school and in communities;
-Assist parents in becoming advocates in their student’s schools for sustainable arts learning;
-Build community based partnerships and collaborations with resources (people, facilities, and sustainable funding) available for arts teaching and learning.
-- From Create CA
Of the 58 counties in California, 34 have a Countywide Strategic Arts Education Plan in place or in progress.
Of those 34 Counties, about one-third have a Plan in progress and two-thirds have a Plan in place.
Common themes, findings, and recommendations from these Plans include:
•Arts Teaching and Learning
•Arts Leadership Development
•Arts Communication and Advocacy
•Arts Funding
Arts Education:
•Stimulates and develops the imagination and critical thinking and refines cognitive and creative skills.
•Has proven to help level the “learning field” across socio-economic boundaries.
•Strengthens problem-solving skills, adding to overall academic achievement and school success.
•Develops a sense of craftsmanship, quality task performance, and goal setting.
•Teaches children life skills such as developing an informed perception; articulating a vision; learning to solve problems and make decisions; building self-confidence and self-discipline; developing the ability to imagine what might be; and accepting responsibility to complete tasks from start to finish.
•Nurtures important values, including team-building skills; respecting alternative viewpoints; and appreciating and being aware of different cultures and traditions.
Proposed Timeline
Fall 2024
•Individual meetings with District Superintendents
•Assemble Advisory Committee
•Formalize Framework
•Research and Networking with other Rural Counties with Strategic Arts Education Plans
Winter/Early Spring 2025
•Conduct Needs Assessment
•Develop Issues to Consider, Challenges, and Findings
Late Spring 2025
•Articulate the Vision
•Develop the Goals
•Identify Strategic Partners
•Create Draft Plan with Recommendations, Benchmarks, and Next Steps
•Review Draft Plan with Stakeholders
By June 30, 2025
•Finalize Plan and Present to EDCOE Board, Districts, County Board of Supervisors, and the Public
Sample Strategic Plans
Statewide Partner Networks
Create CA advocates for high-quality arts education for all students by providing policy expertise and mobilizing a statewide network of advocates and allied partners.
The California County Superintendents believe that all California students deserve in-depth arts learning as part of the core curriculum. The Statewide Arts Initiative works at all levels to strengthen and expand arts education in CA Public Schools and increase student access to sequential, standards-based arts education through a full complement of services utilizing the statewide county office of education infrastructure. One of its key purposes is to build educator capacity to implement California Arts Standards and the Arts Education Curriculum Framework.
The Arts Now program is a statewide network of arts education advocates who participate in professional development and local arts education coalition building. Their goal is to increase public funding for, access to, and participation in arts education, regardless of zip code, race, gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.
Resources
California Arts Education Framework
The CA Arts Education Frameworkadopted by the State Board of Education in 2019, provides guidance for implementing arts education in California in grades TK through 12.
Parents' Guide to the Arts in CA Public Schools
provides an overview of what children across the state should learn in the five arts disciplines by the end of each grade level.
Creativity Challenge: The State of Arts Education in California
examines the state of arts education in California and how it has changed since 2007.