PSUSD is the valley’s first “Arts Equity District”
Palm Springs Unified School District has become the Valley’s first “Arts Equity District.” It means art will be accessible to students in all grade levels.
One of the art programs PSUSD offers is the Boys Arts Mentoring program also known as BAM. Bam was started last year as a way to give sixth grade boys extra positive attention. This year they have expanded to 7th graders.
Some of the activities include painting, pop-lock breaking dancing, poetry/ spoken-word poetry, drums and visual arts. Students are divided into groups and rotate working directly with professional artists
For Damien Castro, a 7th grader, describes what he enjoys the most about the BAM program.
“My favorite part is doing the instruments with the instructor to learn about the tribes in Africa and I like that because I want to learn more about it,” says Castro.
Damien Castro has been in the program both years.
“Its helped me because I never knew about that and its fun to learn about new things.”
Late last month, Palm Springs Board of Education made the commitment to become an “Arts Equity District.” The district plans to have equitable access to standards-based arts learning. The commitments will give students the right to fully develop their creative potential at every grade level and engage in arts education that reflects, respects, and builds on student’s culture, language and background.
PSUSD Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator, Barbara Anglin plans to develop a five year strategic plan for the arts and the district’s partnership with the California Alliance for Arts Education and Arts Now.
“I hope what will happen is we continue with our great partnerships with our art partners that we have throughout the Coachella Valley and the programs that our arts teachers are running currently. Then expand to areas that we have gaps in or that we want to strengthen or to grow in and build,” says Anglin.
The list of PSUSD’s Art Programs:
4 2 N O – Art curriculum for 4th grade students – created in conjunction with Art Patron magazine
Art With Heart – Weekly art classes for Alternative Education students
Boys Arts Mentoring (BAM) – Monthly middle school art program, just for boys
Cabot’s Indian Pueblo Museum – 2nd grade program/field trip in social studies/art
Children’s Discovery Museum – 1st grade program/field trip in science/art
CVREP – Annual anti bullying play presented for PSUSD middle schools
Desert Art Center – Series of free art classes for middle schools offered twice annually
Hand Chime
2nd Grade Art Classes
Lady Lead – Monthly middle school art program, just for girls
McCallum Theatre – “5th Grade Project” – all PSUSD fifth grades
Palm Springs Art Museum – “Art Within Reach” – all PSUSD third grades
Palm Springs Community Concerts – 3 All District concerts for students at the Richards Center for the Arts
Palm Springs Opera Guild – 3 week Opera tour into all PSUSD schools
Red Hot Ballroom – Dance instruction for 3rd-6th grades in 5 ballroom dances
Steinway Society – Classical music concerts all PSUSD Kindergarten through 2nd grades – 6 Piano and 6 Ukulele labs – Music education docents
Summer Programming
The Living Desert – Kindergarten program/fieldtrip in science/art
KESQ
