Creating Equity and Access Through the Arts for Students along the LA River

Communities along the LA River are disproportionately impacted by poverty and racial inequity. Lower socioeconomic status translates to other disadvantages including little to no access to arts and culture and under-resourced schools. LA County data shows that schools with a larger share of students of color offer less and lower quality arts instruction. Quantity and quality are also lower in schools with larger percentages of students enrolled in free and reduced price meals and schools with larger percentages of English learners. This is an issue of basic equity. While there is a clear connection between arts education and positive outcomes - including increased student engagement, sense of connection, academic achievement, attendance and graduation rates, and more - low income and students of color are routinely denied access to high quality arts education.

TACA is serving as the education partner of the LA River revitalization project, a comprehensive plan to support nearby communities. We launched partnerships with four Southeast LA schools in 2018 with a commitment to expand to ten over a five year period. During the 21/22 school year we will launch partnerships with two additional schools. Along with an intensive onboarding process, we will provide: Arts Integration Coaching - We partner with P.S. ARTS to provide ongoing hands-on technical support at each school to help with implementation of school-wide arts goals, such as helping teachers design lessons that integrate arts into core subjects. Principal Coaching - One-on-one coaching helps principals build their leadership skills in and through the arts. Artistic Residencies and Community Engagement Projects - TACA will match each school with partner arts organizations to provide two hands-on artistic residency experiences for students during the school year, underwritten by TACA. This may include theatre with the Actor’s Gang or poetry with Get Lit: Words Ignite. In addition to exposing students to new artistic mediums, these residencies also build the capacity of teachers to integrate these art forms into curriculum. Funding also supports projects to engage families and boost school culture, such as Family Art Nights. Convenings with Statewide Network - We bring our schools from across CA together regularly for planning, peer exchange, and professional development.

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

TACA’s innovative approach leverages a collaborative model for expanded impact. Through our partnerships with arts and education organizations in LA County we are supporting and complementing their work while also bringing together a diverse set of expertise to provide holistic solutions to the complex and interwoven social issues impacting the school communities along the LA River. In communities that have historically been denied access to resources and who have faced trauma, the arts are an effective tool to build connections across teachers and students from different backgrounds, and create an equitable and inclusive environment where students feel seen, celebrated, and supported. We empower teachers to take risks and create spaces that nurture innovative, critical 21st century thinkers who will be better prepared for the ever-changing job market and economy. Through the arts, we envision vibrant school environments where all students can thrive and succeed.

Our eval tools including surveys, arts logs, and mid-year and year-end reports gather extensive qualitative and quantitative data. We track and have seen significant impact in 4 key areas: 1. Teachers have increased capacity to integrate the arts into classroom instruction to provide multiple, culturally and linguistically responsive entry points for learning. 2. Principals, teachers and other school staff share a clear vision and model collaborative leadership. 3. School culture and climate is improved and embraces an equity and growth mindset, supports risk-taking, collaboration, and empathy, and honors student voice and agency. 4. Family and community members are engaged as participants, advocates, volunteers, and equitable partners in learning. We also see improvements in English Language Arts and math proficiency, as well as a decrease in suspension and chronic absenteeism rates. We are currently exploring and piloting the measurement of more student-centered impacts.

LA is the best place to CREATE