The district applied for a waiver that would allow it flexibility in spending the money. Sanders said the state has received several waiver requests and staff are reviewing them now.
For districts like Modoc, Flores suggested the staff look at gaps in the arts offerings – dance or media arts, for example – and use the Prop. 28 funding to hire teachers or partner with local arts groups in those disciplines. He also suggested they check if specific groups of students, such as those who are English learners, are under-enrolled in arts classes and expand programs tailored to their interests.
A point of confusion among parents is why some schools within a district may get more Prop. 28 funding than others. Prop. 28 funds are allocated based on enrollment and students’ economic needs, so schools with more low-income students receive more money. Los Angeles Unified, for example, distributed $77 million in Prop. 28 arts funding across more than 1,000 schools, with big variations at school sites.
“Due to the diversity of our schools and their respective school-site budgets, Prop. 28 funding may fluctuate at each school from one year to the next,” according to a Los Angeles Unified fact sheet on Prop. 28.
Some schools in Santa Cruz County have some of the state’s most comprehensive arts programs and are using their Prop. 28 funds to expand arts classes even further. Arts Council Santa Cruz County plays a key role: hiring local artists to teach, helping artists get their teaching credentials, forging partnerships between schools and arts groups and helping districts map out their long-term arts programs.
Arts education can improve students’ academic achievement, attendance and college-going rates, research shows, and boost students’ empathy for others. But the key is creating an arts program that’s part of a broader plan, aligns with the state standards, offers plenty of options and reflects a range of cultures, said Sarah Brothers, the council’s education director.
In Santa Cruz County, that includes ukulele classes at the alternative high schools, repujado (embossed tin) and papel picado (paper flags) projects for Day of the Dead altars, and environmental murals at middle schools, among other undertakings.
The council also tries to promote careers in the arts.
“There’s often a gap between arts education and kids seeing the arts as a viable career path,” Brothers said. “But California is the largest creative economy in the world. There are lots and lots of great jobs in the arts. You can make money. You can have a successful career. We work hard to make sure students know that.”
Arts education funding at twerk
In Watsonville, a hip-hop dance party erupts every day in the multipurpose room of Radcliff Elementary. Under the instruction of Luis Sanchez, students do cartwheels and headstands, stomp and hop, twirl and spin, kick and jump — and squeal with laughter — to upbeat dance tracks. Some of it is choreographed, some of it is freeform, all of it is fun.
Funded by Prop. 28 money, Sanchez’s class is one of several hip-hop classes in Pajaro Valley Unified, a largely Latino and low-income district of 15,000 students at the agricultural, southern end of the county.
“It’s been amazing,” said kindergarten teacher Leigh Klein. “They’re doing better academically because they can focus more. But they’re also doing better emotionally — they’re learning to express themselves, take risks. And they can get their wiggles out. … when they see ‘hip-hop’ on the schedule, they all say, ‘Yay!’ ”
With a gentle demeanor and a perpetual smile, Sanchez teaches students dance moves like tutting, popping and breaking, as well as the stories behind the moves. Tutting, for example, refers to the angular arm movements seen on images of King Tut.
At a recent class for kindergartners, students followed his every move – and then added their own freestyle interpretations. Some jumped in a circle and did backbends as their classmates clapped to the music. Others practiced their footwork. Two girls held hands and spun. Occasionally Sanchez had them line up to learn new moves. When Sanchez played “Cha Cha Slide,” the students erupted with glee.
The program has been a boon for Sanchez, as well. A Watsonville native, Sanchez became fascinated with dancing as a child in the 1990s while watching his uncle and his friends break-dance on sheets of cardboard in the parking lot of their apartment complex. Later he took up street dancing himself, finding a tight-knit community in Watsonville, Gilroy and San Jose.
As a student at Cabrillo Community College in Aptos, Sanchez helped his dance teacher lead classes, and then started teaching dancing at local youth centers and after-school programs. He’d always dreamed of making a living as a dancer, but always had to work side jobs at Target or FedEx to make ends meet. Getting a teaching credential seemed out of reach.
Then, with the passage of Prop. 28, the full-time dance instructor position came up.
“Dance has meant so much to me, it’s opened so many doors, showed me different cultures, showed me there’s a big world out there,” Sanchez said. “Now I get to share this with the kids. I never thought I’d be able to make a living doing what I love, but here I am.”
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