Students at Leuzinger High School take part in an arts engagement featuring UniverSOUL Hip Hop.

The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture (Arts and Culture) has announced that grants totaling $811,600 will be awarded to 40 Los Angeles County school districts. The Advancement Grant Program is administered through the LA County Arts Education Collective, the countywide initiative dedicated to making the arts a core part of every child’s growth and development. Advancement Grants, underwritten by the Arts Ed Collective Funders Council, offer flexible funding to school districts, and are matched by school district funds. Leveraging public and private resources, they will invest more than $1.6M this year to expand access to instruction in dance, media arts, music, theater, and visual arts.

School districts use Advancement Grants to implement district-wide arts education in a range of ways: arts integration, professional development and resources for teachers, social emotional learning in the arts, arts classes, and musical instrument purchases for at-home instruction. To address data showing disparities in access to the arts, Advancement Grants promote equity with priority points for school districts serving large student populations of 10,000 or greater, and those with an Unduplicated Pupil Count of 71% or greater which includes students eligible for Free and Reduced Priced Meals, foster youth, and English language learners. A complete list of the 40 school district grantees (including four charter school networks) is below.

We are proud to provide Advancement Grants with an eye toward increasing equity and access in arts education for the benefit of our County youth, said Kristin Sakoda, Director of Arts and Culture. In this unprecedented time, the human connection, educational engagement, wellbeing, and creative expression that the arts provide is more important than ever. We are deeply grateful for our school district, philanthropy, and County partners as we collectively work to ensure opportunities for students to create and thrive.

Investing in the future for Los Angeles County’s children is imperative, especially now, said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. These Advancement Grants support a well-rounded education and help school districts lay the foundation to careers in the arts and the creative economy. We want every person in Los Angeles County to have access to the breadth, depth, and diversity of the arts to enrich their childhood and foster their creativity into adulthood.

We know that learning is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor, so as educators throughout Los Angeles County innovate their operations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have an obligation to support customized learning initiatives that equip students with invaluable creative skills, said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. The Advancement Grants will be used for initiatives designed by the school districts themselves, as they know how to best reach their communities and be attentive to gaps and inequities in resources.