SR-305-002
F:\CAD\COUNCIL\REPORTS\AIA Demo Project.doc
City Council Meeting: January 23, 2001 Santa Monica, California
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CITY
MANAGER TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL TO THE CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL
ARTS IN EDUCATION DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
INTRODUCTION
This report recommends that Council approve a resolution authorizing the City Manager to
submit a proposal to the California Arts Council’s Arts In Education Demonstration Project to
implement the Santa Monica Arts Education Plan by the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs
th
Division and the Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District and the 18 Street Arts Complex.
BACKGROUND
The California Arts Council (CAC) has issued a request for proposals for local arts
organizations and school districts to develop demonstration projects addressing arts in
education. CAC is seeking projects which aspire to make the arts basic to the school
curriculum and that define workable models describing why and how they are successful so
that other interested parties, schools and communities can emulate these models. Up to
$150,000 in funding is available through this program, and must be submitted by cities in
partnership with local school districts.
1
In the past, the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District have
received funding from the CAC to develop the Santa Monica Arts Education Project (SMAEP).
The purpose of SMAEP was to create a long-range plan, one that promotes and plans for the
use of local community arts resources in a partnership that makes the arts an integral part of
the core curriculum of every school in the Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District. The
need for such a program was clearly seen in the Santa Monica Cultural Arts Master Plan:
"The critical need for arts education to be considered an integral component of a well-
rounded K-12 curriculum and as a tool to develop future arts audiences has been a
primary concern of both the original Master Plan and Update cultural planning
processes."
In order to be eligible for funding under the California Arts Council’s Arts in Education
Demonstration Project, the City must submit a formal application. This submittal process
requires a City Council resolution which authorizes the City Manager to apply for grant funding.
This proposal has been endorsed by Dr. Neil Schmidt, Superintendent of the Santa
Monica/Malibu Unified School District, and his letter of support is included in the grant
application.
DISCUSSION
Assuming a favorable response to the City’s proposal, the City and the School District will
th
work in partnership with the 18 Street Arts Complex to oversee implementation of the next
phase of the Santa Monica Arts Education Project. This phase will design and test a
2
blueprint for a partnership between the Santa Monica arts community and the Santa
Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD). This collaboration between the
th
Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division, SMMUSD, and the 18 Street Arts Complex, will
provide Santa Monica public school teachers with professional training on how to
incorporate the arts into their classroom activities, with an emphasis on how to
integrate the arts into all areas of their curriculum. Approximately 30 teachers will
participate in new training programs and be eligible to work with an artist or arts group
they select from the SMAEPP Directory, a compendium of Santa Monica artists who are
qualified to work with teachers to present classroom-based professional arts training
programs for students. In addition, the project will seek additional Santa Monica-
based artists and arts organizations to expand the directory with at least 30 new artists
and arts agencies. Each teacher/artist collaboration would result in an 8-12 week
residency during the 2001-02 school year, with the artist spending at least two hours
per week with the students. When this implementation is complete, the process and
the outcomes will be evaluated fully by a professional education evaluator in
accordance with the California Arts Council’s guidelines for assessing arts education
programs.
Working with both City and School District staff on this project will be a Steering Committee
composed of community members who have served on the Arts Commission and it Arts
Education Committee; parents, students, teachers, and artists who have demonstrated their
interest in arts education; administrators and educators from the School District; and
representatives from local arts organizations. This Committee has been overseeing the
3
development of SMAEPP , since its inception in 1996.
California Arts Council funding has supplemented City funding to create many successful
programs. Funds from the Arts Council's Organization Support Grant Program have paid
artists' fees for the Santa Monica Festival since 1991. The Cultural Affairs Division is also the
recipient of grants under the Council's State/Local Partnership Program for such projects as
the development of a ArtSea brochure promoting arts and cultural opportunities in the City, for
the Cultural Affairs Division web site highlighting the City’s cultural opportunities, and another
for the Santa Monica Economic Impact Report of the Arts.
BUDGET FINANCIAL IMPACT
This program does not require any match in funding. Staff will seek Council approval to
increase the revenue and expenditure budgets by the appropriate amounts if the grant
is awarded.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff respectfully recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution authorizing
the City Manager to file an application and execute all necessary grant documents.
Prepared by: Barbara Stinchfield, Director, Community and Cultural Services
María Luisa de Herrera, Manager, Cultural Affairs Division
Hamp Simmons, Coordinator, Cultural Affairs Division
Attachments: Resolution
4
F:\CAD\COUNCIL\REPORTS\AIA Demo Project.doc Santa Monica, California
City Council Meeting January 23, 2001
RESOLUTION NO._________________ (City Council Series)
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
AUTHORIZING CITY MANAGER TO MAKE A PROPOSAL TO THE CALIFORNIA ARTS
COUNCIL ARTS IN EDUCATION DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
WHEREAS, the California Arts Council has initiated the Arts in Education
Demonstration Project to emphasize the importance of the arts in the complete education of
every child; and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division and the Santa
Monica/Malibu Unified School District have collaborated to develop a process in which a plan
can be determined to address the needs of the children in Santa Monica; and
WHEREAS, the California Arts Council's procedures require the City as applicant to
certify, by resolution, the approval of the application before submission of said application to
the Arts Council;, and
WHEREAS, the California Arts Council's procedures require the City as applicant to
certify, by resolution, support for the development of the Santa Monica Arts in Education
Demonstration Project Proposal described in said application; and
WHEREAS, the Santa Monica City Council believes that a well rounded education in
the arts is an essential element in the education of the City's youth;
5
NOW THEREFORE THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES
RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The filing of a proposal with the California Arts Council under the Arts in
Education Demonstration Project is hereby approved.
SECTION 2. The City as applicant certifies that said Applicant understands the
assurances and certification in the application form.
SECTION 3. The City Manager is hereby appointed as agent of the City of Santa
Monica to conduct all negotiations, and to execute and submit all documents including, but not
limited to, applications, agreements, amendments, payment requests and so forth, which may
be necessary for the completion of the aforementioned Project.
SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of the Resolution and
thenceforth and thereafter it shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_______________________________________
MARSHA JONES MOUTRIE
City Attorney
6