Arts Education
District Case Studies
In 2008, the Arts for All Executive Committee commissioned Lynn Waldorf to conduct a series of case studies on the eleven vanguard school districts that joined the initiative within its first five years. These school districts are:
- Beverly Hills Unified School District
- Burbank Unified School District
- Castaic Union School District
- Compton Unified School District
- Culver City Unified School District
- Hacienda La Puente Unified School District
- Los Angeles County Office of Education School District
- Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District
- Pasadena Unified School District
- Rosemead School District
- Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
The case studies document the progress made and issues confronted by each school district during the early stages of planning and implementing their arts plans. Key findings include:
- Half the Vanguard Districts adopted standards-based sequential curricula in music and visual arts within three years of initiating implementation. Fewer than 20 percent have added dance or theatre.
- 82% of Vanguard Districts reported they joined the Arts for All initiative to replace a patchwork approach to arts education with sequential instruction. Approximately half were also motivated by the opportunity to improve equitable access for all students.
- All the Vanguard Districts had either hired or assigned someone to coordinate the arts education reform effort—a factor that was considered critical to achieving their goals. In general, districts with full-time coordinators in administrative positions were able to progress the furthest.
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More information
If you have questions about the Arts for All school district case studies, please contact Sofia Klatzker, Senior Advocacy and Research Manager, by email or at (213)202-5858.
