Overview

ArtsBridge

A unique school/university partnership in education

UC Davis ArtsBridge is a unique school/university partnership in arts education, providing authentic, culturally relevant, sequential arts education of the highest quality to students and teachers in a wide range of regional K-12 schools. We serve schools within Yolo, Sacramento, and Solano counties.

Housed within the UC Davis School of Education’s CRESS Center, ArtsBridge is part of a core of programs focusing on school site leadership development, program evaluation, and participation in a broad alliance of higher education and K-12 for the greater Sacramento region. UC Davis ArtsBridge integrates the resources of the School of Education, the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies, and the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, in service of our region’s K-12 schools.

Creativity is Pivotal

UC Davis ArtsBridge believes that creativity is pivotal to the development of inspired learners and active community members. A partner in ArtsBridge America, a broad national network of 22 universities, UC Davis ArtsBridge forms a strong bridge that connects University faculty and scholars with classroom teachers and diverse student populations. These hopeful, skillful, and dedicated individuals form an eclectic community with a unified purpose: to spark the creative and academic development of youth, to cultivate a new generation of teaching artists, to provide arts resources to classroom teachers, and to create change within our schools and neighborhoods to fulfill our mandate of full access to arts education for all children in our region.

How we work with schools

ArtsBridge provides internships to highly qualified UC Davis Arts majors who give K-12 classroom instruction in art, dance, drama, music, and the digital arts in schools within Yolo, Sacramento and Solano counties. ArtsBridge develops original arts education projects that are tied to community partnerships with public schools and their local neighborhood arts and cultural organizations. The ArtsBridge Scholar works collaboratively with the classroom teacher to create and teach unique lessons in the arts, which are linked to state standards as well as individual classroom needs. The Scholar provides weekly hands-on instruction for up to 10 weeks, teaching basic arts techniques in a context that supports the core curriculum. For teachers without specialization in the arts, this support can awaken a new appreciation for the value of arts in education. For arts specialists, these passionate young artists can supplement and expand existing arts instruction.

ArtsBridge scholars provide up to 10 weeks of hands-on classroom arts instruction during the academic year. Host teachers are invited to participate in a series of California VAPA Standards-aligned professional development workshops throughout the year, as well as special Invitational Institutes during the summer months.

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