Abstract
Arts education in California has had its ups and downs given the tumultuous budget history with years of high funding followed by cuts. The partnership between Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) and the Riverside, Inyo, Mono, and San Bernardino California Arts Project (RIMS CAP), a regional site of The California Arts Project, exemplifies the progress that can be made with support and persistence in the face of budgetary challenges. As this case study highlights, RIMS CAP supported TVUSD in building its arts program in two main ways: (1) developing capacity in a teacher leader who persisted in moving arts education forward and (2) supporting the development and implementation of a strategic arts education plan by providing content and pedagogical expertise. Although TVUSD is only in the early stages of implementing its newly formed strategic arts education plan, the support for the plan at every level of the district—from teachers to principals to district administrators and board members—is an accomplishment. The support from RIMS CAP was essential for directing more attention to arts education in TVUSD and helping the arts become a more central focus of the district. Because the visual arts in TVUSD are making the most progress toward a standards-based, aligned curriculum, this case study focuses on the visual arts.
