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San Diego Unified School District
URL: http://www.sandi.net/204510720114515653/site/default.asp
SDAN Contact: Karen Childress-Evans
Title: Director, VAPA Department
Mailing Address: 825 Santa Barbara Place, San Diego, CA 92109
Phone: (858) 539-5349
e-mail: kchildressevans@sandi.net
2009-10 Program Highlights
Core Learnings: The California VAPA Standards in a user-friendly format; descriptions and explanations about what the VAPA standards look like in the classroom. Documents can be found on the VAPA web site.
Elementary VAPA Road Shows: a free 1 ½-hour, interactive inservice for classroom teachers K-6 that introduces teachers to the VAPA resource teachers, VAPA Standards and basic elements of the four art disciplines: dance, music, theatre and visual art.
Elementary VAPA Lesson Training: There are 27 elementary arts lessons per grade level (K-5) available on the VAPA web site at www.sandi.net/depts/vapa. (9 each in dance, theatre, and visual art instruction) These lessons are for elementary classroom teachers with little or no background or experience in the arts who wish to provide quality arts instruction to their students. Lessons are sequential, grade-appropriate and include standards-based curriculum, engaging activities, and integration strategies. Music lesson trainings will be provided through Pearson textbook adoption trainings in November 2009 and February 2010.
Lesson Trainings: FREE 3-hour workshops to support teachers in providing quality arts instruction using the VAPA lessons, available to county teachers as well. VAPA will pay for the substitutes. Check the SDUSD PD web site for scheduled dates, times and locations.
Teaching Artists: VAPA provides trained teaching artists in dance, music, theatre and visual art to provide quality arts instruction to individual sites who will fund the program.
Elementary Key Concepts and Skills: Highlights key VAPA standards at each grade level and provides a small number of examples that show what students are expected to know and be able to do after a year of arts instruction; used on the Standards-Based Report Card.
Elementary Curriculum Maps: Available grades K-6 on the VAPA web site. They guide the teaching and learning process by determining: 1) the threads that represent ongoing learning opportunities across the four VAPA disciplines throughout all units of inquiry during the entire school year, 2) the essential learnings that represent bigger ideas/concepts in creating and responding to the arts, 3) the essential questions that learners ask themselves in order to achieve the essential learnings in creating and responding to the arts, and 4) the units of study that lead to the essential learnings.
Elementary Instrumental Music Programs (year-long): FREE to all elementary school sites.
- Exploratory
Instruction provided to top grade (5th or 6th) once each week. Students explore four different instruments throughout the year. Music specialists bring instruments for classroom instruction only. Students do not take home instruments in this program.
- Pull-out
Instruction provided to the site’s top two grade levels from 4th to 6th grade students on a voluntary basis. Interested students are pulled out of regular classroom instruction two times each week. Students have the option of renting or purchasing instruments for this program. There are a limited number of musical instruments for students requiring assistance.
- Full Grade
Instruction provided to all students in the site’s top two grade levels 4th, 5th or 6th, divided between band, strings and choir for one 60-minute class per week. Classroom teachers are released for an additional prep time during this instruction. Three separate classrooms or instructional areas are required for this program. Students have the option of renting or purchasing instruments for this program. There are musical instruments available for students requiring assistance. Students do not need musical instruments for the choral classes.
Keys to Achievement Program: an innovative program for grades kindergarten through 2, the core of which is a custom developed interactive, self-paced software system, including 20 mini-piano keyboards. A computer lab of at least 20 computers (not lap tops) is necessary to support this program. For further information, go to www.keystoachievement.org.
Music Memory: a partnership with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra (SDCO) that that gives students grades 3-6 in-depth study of 16 selections of symphonic music per year. The program introduces students to melody, musical terms, definitions, instrumental and vocal tone colors, musical form and historical and cultural significance of music. An assessment CD offers a variety of pre- and post- tests that include reviews after every four pieces. The culminating project is an invitational “listening bee” similar to a spelling bee for the top scoring students from each school across the District. Live music for this final event is provided by SDCO. Music Memory is available for the students of any teacher grades 3-6 who is trained by VAPA. Training is free and available at the beginning of each year. Contact VAPA for more information.
Honor Concerts and Productions: Provide band, orchestra, choral, and theatre opportunities for proficient and advanced students to learn and perform challenging repertoire rehearsed and directed by leading arts educators, and to experience a high level of performance with peers.
Festivals: Provide opportunities for students to process and analyze their performance, be adjudicated by lead educators, experience other student performances and to derive meaning from a comprehensive arts experience, includes the music solo and ensemble festival, ImprovFest and TechFest.
District Student Art Exhibition: an annual show at the Eugene Brucker Education Center celebrating over 1,000 student artists in a variety of genres from across the district grades K-12.
Grade Level Arts Experience (GLAE) Project: Is a 4-prong instructional model with the intent to provide every SDUSD student (K-8) a variety of FREE grade-level-appropriate, meaningful, arts experiences, reflective of the VAPA standards and presented by trained, professional artists and trained classroom teachers. The four prongs include: 1) a teacher training component, 2) classroom student arts instruction and preparation for the experience, 3) a visit to an authentic arts venue, and 4) a return to the classroom where students participate in reflection, making connections, applying what they have learned to other content areas, and helping them to derive meaning from and effectively respond to the total arts experience. Partnerships include: Classics for Kids (grade 2), the Timken Museum of Art (grade 3), San Diego Symphony (grade 4), Mingei International Museum of Art (grade 6), and San Diego Opera (grade 7).
The MET - Live in HD: a free educational outreach initiative sponsored by the New York Metropolitan Opera. San Diego high school choral students participate in an exciting educational experience that culminates in four Saturday afternoon performances chosen from the Metropolitan Opera’s season to be showcased at Mira Mesa Edwards theatre in San Diego throughout the school year. The program includes educator guides, curricular activities, teacher professional development, free tickets to the performances and CD’s of each performance.
CPEC ITQ grant – SDUSD is in the third year of the California Post-Secondary Education Commission Improving Teacher Quality grant. This grant serves 15 SDUSD elementary sites in low socio-economic areas, training K-2 classroom teachers to provide standards-based, engaging lessons to students and integrate VAPA techniques and strategies into English Language Arts curriculum. Data collected from this pilot program will be used to determine the success of arts integration with English Language Learners and at-risk children.
Young Men in Harmony – sponsored by Pacific Coast Barbershop Harmony group, includes vocal clinics, workshops and performance opportunities for young men in SDUSD, hosting the annual Real Men Sing events.
Partnerships – SDUSD VAPA Department enjoys over 40 formal partnerships with local, state and national arts organizations and universities. These partnerships bring in over $4 million in arts education goods and services annually.
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