ReIMAGINE education.

Creative Bridges is

A Sonoma Valley coalition of organizations dedicated to improving and expanding arts in education for all K-12 youth, in partnership with Sonoma Valley Unified School District.

Our alliance champions the power of visual and performing arts to engage all learners and positively impact their imagination, learning and their lives.

The Challenge

The Visual and Performing Arts are core subjects required by the State of California Education Code for all children in grades K-12.

Currently in Sonoma Valley at the elementary level, there is a lack of robust, sequential visual and performing arts education provided to all students. The K-12 arts curriculum needs unified support for arts programs. Even with the help of many partner nonprofits and organizations, state standards for arts education are not being met and not assessed.

We encourage the community to ReIMAGINE education, and prioritize equitable access to the arts in all schools. This will empower students to succeed as citizens, in their careers and as life-long learners by providing them with a more balanced and creative curriculum.

Your commitment to supporting this mission will make the difference. We ask that you take part in ensuring every child receives continuing arts education as part of an overall quality education.

Our Purpose

Our coalition was founded to create and strengthen connections across the span of local nonprofits and arts organizations, in partnership with the Sonoma Valley Unified School District.

The Creative Bridges alliance is focused on improving the depth and breadth of Visual and Performing Arts Education for ALL children, K-12, in a sustainable way through collaboration.

Together, we’ll take a 360 degree view of the youth arts programs in our valley and schools. We will look at educational gaps, overlaps and best practices in the delivery of arts education by our school district and coalition organizations to fortify our youth’s art, dance, media, music and theater programs. Working in this holistic manner is vital.

For vibrant student learning and engagement to occur, integrating the arts into the other core subjects is one of the keys to ReIMAGINING education to improve academic achievement. Equally, valuing Creative Expression as an important educational tool critical to assist with the social-emotional needs of our youth.

Working together, we will be measuring the impact of our efforts by unifying the data collection across organizations.

Research shows
Arts Education impacts:

More Engaged Students
Higher Tests Scores
Better Attendance

With Arts Education, Students:

Score higher on academic achievement tests
Increase tests scores in both Science and Writing
Are 5 times less likely to drop-out of school
Are 3 times more likely to get a Bachelor’s Degree
Are 30% more inclined toward professional careers
Have higher levels of civic engagement—
volunteering, voting, local politics

New evidence of the benefits of arts education

**FROM THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTE:**
“Engaging with art is essential to the human experience. Almost as soon as motor skills are developed, children communicate through artistic expression. The arts challenge us with different points of view, compel us to empathize with “others,” and give us the opportunity to reflect on the human condition. Empirical evidence supports these claims: Among adults, arts participation is related to behaviors that contribute to the health of civil society, such as increased civic engagement, greater social tolerance, and reductions in other-regarding behavior. Yet, while we recognize art’s transformative impacts, its place in K-12 education has become increasingly tenuous.
Over the last few decades, the proportion of students receiving arts education has shrunk drastically. This trend is primarily attributable to the expansion of standardized-test-based accountability, which has pressured schools to focus resources on tested subjects. As the saying goes, what gets measured gets done. These pressures have disproportionately affected access to the arts…..”

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NEWS! NEWS!
Student Arts around
Sonoma Valley:

Our Coalition of Bridge Builders

Since Creative Bridges launched in 2021 in Sonoma Valley, our crew has magically grown. Currently our members include these local Arts Education champions: