Cal Poly Art Education Outreach Program Earns National Recognition


A Cal Poly art education outreach program designed to put the arts back into county elementary schools has received national recognition and will become a partner in a nationwide effort to advance the role of arts in educating children.

The outreach project selected to be part of the Arts Education Partnership is the California Arts Council Demonstration Project, headed by Susan Duffy and Kathleen Friend of Cal Poly’s Liberal Studies Department.

The Cal Poly project is a partnership of Cal Poly’s Liberal Studies Department, the Lucia Mar Unified School District and the San Luis Obispo County Arts Council. Supported with funds from the California Arts Council, it is a three-year program to assess the influence of the arts on the academic achievement of children in all Lucia Mar elementary schools. The project follows 818 students from third through fifth grade.

Six resident artists provide 22 hours of supplemental visual arts instruction. All teachers in the district are invited to participate in professional development workshops addressing California’s newly adopted visual and performing arts framework and standards.

Since 1995 the national Arts Education Partnership and its more than 100 participating arts, education, business, philanthropic and government organizations have worked to advance the role of the arts in the education and development of children. The partnership also seeks to improve America’s schools.

“Cal Poly’s California Arts Council Demonstration Project and its representatives were selected for participation because the project has garnered state and national recognition for developing an effective and sustained arts partnership that combines higher education, schools and arts organizations,” Duffy said.

Duffy, Friend and Deborah Spatafore, an artist and school coordinator for the San Luis Obispo County Arts Council, plan to attend a national Arts Education Partnership forum later this month in Philadelphia.

For more information, contact Duffy at 756-2327 or sduffy@calpoly.edu.
Media Contact: Jo Ann Lloyd (805) 756-1511