Dear Friends, We hope that you and your family are well and staying healthy. The past few weeks have brought changes to our world that we couldn’t have anticipated. Spring is usually Arts for Learning San Diego’s busiest time of the year with Teaching Artists performing for students and families in schools and community venues, teaching students in weekly residencies and workshops, and working side-by-side with teachers to support their daily teaching strategies. Each year our programs reach approximately 65,000 students.
At Arts for Learning San Diego, we believe that the arts are a critical part of a child’s education and can also help during times of crisis and confusion. Now that schools in San Diego are closed, we are putting into practice everything that we say an arts education gives us – innovative thinking, collaboration, and creative problem solving. For the past three weeks, our staff has been working towards offering our programs online so that children can still access arts content to uplift and focus their intellect, emotions, and energy. Here’s what we are doing:
• As schools shift to online learning, we’re creating content to keep students engaged in learning art techniques so that they can stay creative at home, • We understand that parents need support, too, so we’re developing programs that promote family bonding, • Whenever and wherever we can, we will continue to offer service and education to families connected to the military and some of the most vulnerable students – kids who are incarcerated, pregnant or parenting, or impacted by homelessness - in the Juvenile Court and Community Schools, • Finally, we’re building content to support our valued classroom teachers so that they can create more interesting and innovative lessons as they shift to teaching virtually and online. Why? Because in times like these we still believe in the power of the arts – the power to uplift, to connect people to one another, to deepen learning, and to provide a safe and positive method for self-expression.
Here’s what you can do: Check out our Facebook page and see what our artists are up to! Many of them are offering visual art, theater and dance lessons online. Join in and let us know what you think! As you create your own art, post on your own social media pages and tag us (#A4LSD). If you have the means to do so, please consider making a financial contribution of any amount to Arts for Learning San Diego so that we may continue to provide the type of arts education and programming that San Diego children and families deserve.
Please click on the Donate button bellow, thank you
