The San Luis Obispo County Arts Council

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ARTS Obispo's Arts in Education program raises and distributes funds and promotes events that enrich arts education in SLO County. Driven by a dedicated staff member and an active committee with representatives from the community, ARTS Obispo's board of directors, and several local arts organizations, it drives a wide variety of programming and advocacy efforts. One of our major programs is Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation scholarship contest. The National Endowment for the Arts, the nation's largest funder of the arts, and the Poetry Foundation, the nation's largest literary organization, have partnered with the California Arts Council and local affiliates like ARTS Obispo to bring Poetry Out Loud to high schools across California. In 2009-2010, six area high schools participated in this program, one for the first time, reaching more than 1600 area high school students. For more information on Poetry Out Loud, including a timeline of events and information for students, parents, and teachers, contact ARTS Obispo, or visit www.poetryoutloud.org for details on the national program. The InnerSpark program, the California State Summer School for the Arts, is a very competitive program for talented high school-aged visual, literary, media and performing artists in California. The teenagers who are selected will be designated California Arts Scholars, and will attend one of the country's premier summer arts institutes on the campus of the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. ARTS Obispo aids in the promotion of the program at the local level through published press releases, notification of schools and parents, and various events for interested students. For more information on InnerSpark, including applications, financial aid, and various events and resources for parents and students, visit Innerspark website. Arts Curriculum Assistance, now in its second year, provides arts infused curriculum support at underfunded elementary schools in the county, as well as special education arts opportunity support. Working in tandem with principals and teachers, the program identifies their arts needs and partners with other non-profits such as Children's Creative Project and the Central Coast Center for Arts Education ( CCCAE ) to bring artist educators into the classroom and provide teacher development, training and enrichment for arts integration into the elementary curriculum. Arts Consortium for Education ( ACE ), while not an official program of ARTS Obispo, operates under our umbrella. A small but dedicated group of arts advocates, ACE meets monthly in ARTS Space Obispo and includes representatives of the SLO Symphony, the Art Center, and Youth Outreach for the Performing Art Center ( YOPAC ), among others. ARTS Obispo also works on resource distribution and arts education advocacy throughout the county year round as needed. Efforts include diverse activities such as participating in Visual and Performing Arts ( VAPA ) planning with San Luis Coastal, letter writing to policy makers, packet for approaching PTAs for funding arts curriculum in the classrooms and field trips, and distributing information on other arts opportunities to teachers and parents. The goal of ARTS Obispo's Arts in Education programming is to continue developing as a resource hub for the community via our office, website, and programs. For information on how you can be involved in Arts in Education in San Luis Obispo County, including volunteer opportunities, contact ARTS Obispo.