LA County School Districts Receive $748,400 In Matching Grants

LA County School Districts Receive $748,400 in matching Grants in Support of Arts Education in Schools

Awards Support Projects Ranging From Culturally-relevant Instruction to Creative Workforce Pathways

In August, the Los Angeles County Arts Education Collective (formerly Arts For All) announced $748,400 in one-year matching grants to 42 school districts, including three charter networks through its Advancement Grant Program.

Now in its sixteenth year, the Arts Ed Collective is dedicated to making the arts core in public education by working with school districts and community arts partners to increase the quality, quantity and equity of arts instruction provided in schools. Since 2002 the Arts Ed Collective has offered a continuum of services to school districts including coaching for strategic planning and arts coordination, Countywide networking opportunities and funding for implementation.

The Advancement Grant Program offers flexible and responsive financial support, helping districts build necessary infrastructure to expand quality arts instruction in dance, media arts, music, theatre and visual arts for all of their students.

The 2018/19 Advancement Grant awards range from $6,900 to $22,900 for projects that include: professional development for teachers, culturally relevant in-school performances for students, the expansion of district-wide arts-integrated curriculum, the hiring of full-time staff, the development of college and career arts pathways, the purchasing of materials and more.

“Supporting school districts in their efforts to make quality arts education available to all LA County public school students is central to our mission,” said LA County Arts Commission Director of Arts Education Denise Grande. “This year, through the generosity of our Funders Council, we are pleased to be expanding the Advancement Grant Program, offering more funding to more districts than ever before.”

The Advancement Grant Program is underwritten by the LA County Arts Ed Collective Funders Council, with dedicated support from The Boeing Company, Herb Alpert Foundation, The Angell Foundation, The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, The Carl and Roberta Deutsch Foundation, Rosenthal Family Foundation and The Dwight Stuart Youth Fund. Music education projects that are part of the Advancement Grant Program receive dedicated funding from Colburn Foundation and The Music Man Foundation. Established in 2004, the LA County Arts Ed Collective Funders Council is a collaborative of public and private funders that serves as a vehicle for sharing knowledge, developing strategy and strengthening arts education across LA County by both giving on the local level and supporting larger efforts towards system change by contributing to the work of the Arts Ed Collective. Since its inception, the Funders Council has invested more than $10.8 million in LA County arts education.

“Expanding arts education is one of the core initiatives of the Arts Commission,” said LA County Arts Commission Executive Director Kristin Sakoda. “Making arts and culture more accessible to all LA County residents begins long before the museum door or the theatre lobby. In many cases, a classroom is a child’s first gallery, stage, dance hall or music studio. In ensuring quality arts education we make the arts more accessible.”

The 2018-19 Advancement Grant Recipients


District Name Award Final Project Description
Antelope Valley Union High School District $17,200 to support district wide arts coordination, teacher professional development, student field trips and the purchase of instructional materials
Burbank Unified School District $22,900 to support artist residencies, teacher professional development, instrument repair and purchases, and transportation for student field trips
Castaic Union School District $9,600 to support the expansion of district arts coordination to oversee teacher professional development and residency programs
Centinela Valley Union High School District $19,600 to support culturally relevant performances for students and teacher professional development
Claremont Unified School District $19,100 to support the expansion of district arts coordination and the SALT program
Compton Unified School District $16,700 to support the expansion of visual arts curriculum, district wide elementary teacher professional development and the purchase of supplies and materials
Covina-Valley Unified School District $19,700 to support the expansion of district wide visual arts programming for kindergarten through fifth grade
Culver City Unified School District $20,800 to support district wide arts communications and technical theatre management
Duarte Unified School District $10,800 to support the expansion of teacher professional development in arts integration by the Armory Center for the Arts
El Monte Union High School District $21,600 to support equity in the arts for special populations through the expansion of student arts councils
El Rancho Unified School District $17,500 to support the expansion of a district wide arts integration curriculum
Gorman Joint School District $17,900 to support teacher professional development, artist workshops, and the purchase of visual arts and theater equipment and materials
Hawthorne School District $19,700 to support teacher professional development and the expansion of the art docent program
Hughes-Elizabeth Lakes Union $16,400 to support visual arts instruction, teacher professional development and the purchase of supplies
Inner City Education Foundation $20,700 to support the addition of a full time visual arts specialist
iLead Charter Network $15,500 to support the expansion of district arts coordination
Inglewood Unified School District $6,900 to support teacher professional development in arts integration
Keppel Union School District $19,900 to support district wide teacher professional development, curriculum development and artist workshops
Las Virgenes Unified School District $9,200 to support teacher professional development in arts integration
Lawndale Elementary School District $20,600 to support district wide culturally relevant dance performances for students and teacher professional development
Lennox School District $17,400 to support teacher professional development, parent training and the purchase of performing arts materials and equipment
Lynwood Unified School District $11,100 to support teacher professional development in theater integration for first grade provided by the Music Center
Magnolia Public Schools $16,400 to support the expansion of teacher professional development by the Music Center
Monrovia Unified School District $20,800 to support the expansion of vocal music in middle school
Montebello Unified School District $20,400 to support STEAM teacher professional development for fourth and fifth grades
Mountain View School District $21,600 to support the development of a music education scope and sequence for transitional kindergarten through sixth grade
Newhall School District $22,600 to support district wide theater residencies for fifth grade and arts integration teacher professional development
Norwalk La Mirada Unified School District $8,300 to support teacher professional development in theater integration and the purchase of instructional materials by Drama Education Network and the development of visual arts curriculum
Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District $8,200 to support teacher professional development and a district wide artist workshop
Paramount Unified School District $21,400 to support the expansion of elementary performing arts instruction by a credentialed teacher, teacher professional development and the purchase of instructional materials
Pasadena Unified School District $22,800 to support the expansion of district wide theater residencies to second grade
Pomona Unified School District $21,800 to support the expansion of the arts leads initiative and residencies for fourth and fifth grades
PUC Charter Network $20,700 to support the development of college and career arts pathways and the purchase of materials for arts instruction
Rosemead School District $21,800 to support the expansion of district wide teacher professional development by the Music Center
Saugus Union School District $22,600 to support district wide music residencies for fourth grade
South Pasadena Unified School District $21,400 to support teacher professional development for arts specialist, equipment repair and purchases, and the expansion of district arts coordination
Sulphur Springs Union School District $19,400 to support the expansion of residencies to first grade and teacher professional development in arts integration lesson design
Temple City Unified School District $7,000 to support teacher professional development, collaboration time and student showcases
Walnut Valley Unified School District $20,900 to support district wide theater integrated STEAM artist residencies and teacher professional development by Dramatic Results
Whittier City School District $21,900 to support the expansion of district wide music instruction for kindergarten through second grade by a credentialed teacher and the purchase of instruments
Whittier Union High School District $20,700 to support teacher professional development, curriculum development and the purchase of equipment and supplies