Teaching souls to soar Teaching souls to soar (December 17, 2004)

PCAC funds Arts in the Schools
by Dolores Fox Ciardelli

A group of third-graders waxed poetic last May after their trip to Davies Symphony Hall to hear the San Francisco Symphony.

"The seats at the symphony were perfect!" Emily Cain wrote in a thank you note to the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council. "We liked the music and the conductor!"

A grant from PCAC paid for the experience as part of its program called Arts in the Schools. Last school year PCAC provided $8,000 for art experiences for students, which were matched by the school groups that applied for the funds. This meant that $16,000 was spent, which reached some 4,000 students. In addition to the trip to the symphony, funds were spent during the last school year as follows: Ą Visual arts instruction was provided to more than 1,000 students; Ą Students made puppets related to the Community of Character; Ą High school students created a multicultural mural to enhance their campus; Ą Middle-school students saw performances of Shakespeare and heard two authors speak; Ą Two elementary schools created tile walls, one honoring the Community of Character, one on nature; Ą A series of music appreciation lessons covered several grade levels; Ą Students made a quilt to honor Nigerian children, using African motifs; and Ą $1,000 was given to support the expansion of the orchestra program at Amador Valley High School.

Diane Wardin runs Arts in the Schools along with Carol Boster, who is a teacher at Fairlands Elementary, and Charlotte Severin. Wardin said they were especially excited about the expanded music program at Amador. Five years ago, PCAC helped start the strings music program in the elementary schools and now those students have progressed to high school, making it possible for Amador to have a full symphonic band.

"Carol worked gobs of hours with other teachers so kids in the fifth grade would have string instruction," said Wardin. "It's nice that it's coming to fruition."

"Arts are not a frill," said Severin, a watercolor artist who also teaches classes through the city. "They are essential. Art offers the balance necessary for everyone."

She recalled the early days of Arts in the Schools when several classes would gather in a multipurpose room for her to lead them in Chinese brush painting. "I stood on the stage and they were all painting with me," she said.

The Livermore-Amador Symphony had a group that visited schools to demonstrate how instruments worked. A woman from the Pleasanton Playhouse performed in a boa and hat and kept changing her accessories, putting on different hats and using various voices to show how to become a different person.

"We made one requirement," said Severin, "that programs not be entertainment. They had to be educational and involve the kids."

"Over the years we've changed the way Arts in the Schools works," said Wardin. "They need to line up the program themselves." She said that sometimes teachers apply for a grant, or assembly coordinators or parents. "We award funds to the programs that closely match what our purpose is, then the schools match the money - arts groups, teachers funds, classroom funds."

"There is a big emphasis for sports in the families here but not all kids get as much of the arts as they really should have," said Wardin. "I think that it is really wonderful for children that don't get taken to the musical events as a family. The thing that Arts in the Schools does is try to see that kids are introduced to different artistic activities."

After the program takes place, the applicant completes the process by giving PCAC a review or evaluation of the event. Sometimes the students themselves chime in:

"Thank you for paying for the tickets so that we could enjoy the symphony. If you hadn't payed, we would have never have got to enjoy the grand Davies Symphony Hall.

"Class of 9B"

More about PCAC More about PCAC (December 17, 2004)

The Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council hosts a four-hands concert by world-renowned pianists Mark Anderson and Tamriko Siprashvili each year to benefit Arts in the Schools. It also sponsors a classical musical ensemble, the Pleasanton Chamber Players; hosts the annual Poetry and Arts Festival; and gives the annual Young Artist Achievement Awards and Banquet. It started the city's Art in Public Places, which evolved into the Civic Arts Commission. The group also advocates for arts facilities and was involved in the renovation of the Amador Theater. Now its members are raising funds for the Old Firehouse Theater and Gallery to be on Railroad Avenue.

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