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April 2003 Newsletter


SMARTS: BRING BACK THE ARTS

CALIFORNIA STATE PTA ONLINE NEWSLETTER

April 2003

In this issue:

  • Arts Legislation Updates:
    • PTA/CAAE arts bill SB 469 (Scott) passes in Senate Education Committee
    • SCR 5 (Scott) Standards based instruction passes unanimously in State Senate
  • New Arts Resource for Parents and Educators
  • April is Poetry Month
  • Advocacy Ideas to Support Arts in your school district
  • Making the Case for the Arts

PTA/CAAE arts bill SB 469 (Scott) Passes 11-1 in Senate Education Committee

Good News!

SB 469 (Scott), heard in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, April 2, 2003, passed out of the committee with an 11 to 1 vote.

This bill authorizes a school district to use Instructional Materials funding to purchase adopted instructional materials for the visual and performing arts, foreign language, and health after the district provides each pupil with standards-aligned instructional materials in reading/language arts, mathematics, history/social science, and science.

Find out the latest information about this bill by going to http://www.legweb.com/cgi-bin/ toc.cgi?session=51d203192516dedb10cc859a945138e4&billid=19970

SCR 5 (Scott) Standards based instruction passes unanimously in State Senate

The State Senate passed unanimously a resolution by Senator Jack Scott (D-Altadena) that memorializes the importance of visual and performing art course work for California public school students.

“Arts educators do a fantastic job with our children,” said Senator Scott. “Still, there is a real need for more quality arts education in our schools. My resolution highlights the significance of K-12 arts education and publicizes the fact that high school students who plan to attend a California university are required to take arts coursework.”

Find out the latest information about this bill by going to http://www.legweb.com/cgi-bin/toc.cgi?session= 51d203192516dedb10cc859a945138e4&billid=18867

New Arts Resource for Parents and Educators: “Sparks”

KQED public television now has a weekly arts program with resources for parents and teachers on the Web. Called Sparks, this project brings the Bay Area arts community into classrooms; program airs Wednesdays at 7:30 pm and repeats Fridays at 11 pm on KQED Public TV 9. The Web site features Educators’ Guides as well as local and national resources.
http://www.kqed.org/spark/homepage.jsp

April is Poetry Month

Want to find out how to bring poetry into your school? Visit the Web site of California Poets in the Schools. This organization now has programs in 29 counties from Humboldt to San Diego.
http://www.cpits.org/

Advocacy Ideas to Support Arts in your school district

Use the Community Arts Education Project developed by the California State PTA and California Alliance for Arts Education. In an unprecedented effort to support arts education during budget cuts, California’s largest advocacy organizations for children and the arts created this a unique strategy manual to support quality arts education. Download a manual from the California State PTA Web site, SMARTS area:
http://216.197.127.150/sections/programs-smarts/index.cfm

The California Association for Music Educators also has some helpful advocacy hints on their Web site: http://www.calmusiced.com/

Making the Case for the Arts

Visit the California Arts Council’s new Web page on “Making the Case for the Arts.” There is a special section on the arts as a Catalyst for Better Education. Topics include: improving academic performance, imparting skills for the 21st century workforce, arts education and improving citizenship, improving attendance, fortifying cognitive skills, increasing self esteem, reclaiming at-risk youth, supporting lifelong learning, and helping families cope.
http://www.cac.ca.gov/impact/case.cfm

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If you would like to terminate your subscription to the SMARTS eNewsletter, send an E-mail to SMARTSenews@capta.org and in the subject area type “Remove” or “Unsubscribe” and your name will be removed.

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The California State PTA SMARTS e-Newsletter is sent free of charge via the Internet as a service of the California State PTA in the furtherance of its nonprofit and tax-exempt status. Unless otherwise noted, PTAs may reproduce and distribute the materials from the California State PTA Web site for PTA use without express written permission. California State PTA materials may not be duplicated by any other organization or person without written permission.

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