Arts Education Partnerships Lessons Learned from One School District's Experience

Arts education in the nation's public schools is facing some tough challenges despite receiving strong public support and despite the growing evidence of its wide-ranging benefits. To address this situation, the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1999 approved a ten-year program to implement a substantive, sequential curriculum in arts education for all students in kindergarten through grade 12. A central goal of the plan is for schools to build partnerships with the Los Angeles arts community to provide educational programming for students, beginning with selected elementary schools in the Arts Prototype Schools (APS) program. This study examined the range of partnerships in operation and identified the common partnership challenges and facilitators. The authors conducted in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, including APS principals and teachers, local district arts advisors, and directors of arts organizations. This monograph report presents findings from these interviews and provides recommendations for improving the partnerships between arts organizations and schools.