Arts+Partners--+Strategies+to+Use+Now

**Breakout session: Making a Difference: Arts Education Advocacy Strategies to Use Now:**
An informational, exploratory conversation about strengthening our arts education advocacy efforts in the County, using real time arts education concerns to learn and activate our advocacy skills. With Victoria Saunders, Patti Saraniero, and Jennifer Oliver

Here are notes from the presenters, taken in response to the group dialogue. Please add your own comments to the discussion board, or feel free to flesh these out a bit:


 * Arts Education Summit 2009**
 * Making a Difference: Arts Education Advocacy**
 * Flip Chart Notes**

­How do we prepare for the future?

Work with businesses to show how the arts create jobs and how arts education helps people in the workforce

What are we going to do over the next five to ten years?

This needs to become a natural part of our work – we need to bring the whole community into this issue.

What are some concrete strategies we can use to galvanize people?

Arts organizations can play a role with advocacy that classroom teachers and administrators may not be able to play.

Greenpeace “walk around” model.

Facebook page “Save the Arts in San Diego Schools”

Viral networking to reach more people

PTA: Let Ninth District know what we’re doing and they can get the word out through their newsletters etc.

To activate PTAs at various schools the Ninth District office can help us get connected to unit presidents.

croth4kids@cox.net

PTA is starting a program called Parents in the Arts

CAPTA.org – SMARTS program information has a lot of resource information

California Alliance for Arts Education – artsed411.org.

Several bills in state legislature have the potential to erode VAPA requirements for graduation.

Loss of money for ROP is a problem because a lot of these programs are connected to the arts.

Community advocacy efforts

Create a mobilizable community effort – a coordinating agency

Starts with arts organizations that create common agendas with parents, business leaders, community members who speak out in local meetings, city council, school board etc.

Create a list of stakeholders who can remain informed and be deployed as necessary.

Start with identifying advocates in various constituencies and bring them together in a unified way –

Relationship between municipalities and school districts

After school programs etc. that show that good things are happening with children in their area.

Working with libraries, parks and recreation, community centers

Create a list of talking points