Community Impact: Breaking Barriers and Bridging the Gap
SEF’s investments in breaking down barriers in access to the arts will go far in helping to close achievement gaps and creating career paths.
1. Why do you support SEF?
California Institute of the Arts
Former SEF President
I support SEF as the Foundation has made art education and exposure a high priority. While I believe most people understand that the arts are important in a well rounded education, budgets and time committed for the arts has diminished over the years in K-12 education.
Recent research on the impact of the arts on academic and social development have found that there is strong evidence that arts educational experiences can produce significant positive impacts on academic and social development. Families that have resources are able to augment their child’s exposure to the arts outside of the school curriculum in ways that not all families are able to participate.
Furthermore, there are multiple career paths in the arts that can become reality with access to the arts. SEF’s investments in breaking down barriers in access to the arts will go far in helping to close achievement gaps and creating career paths.
2. In your opinion, what is the One Thing that SEF does that enriches students’ lives?
I believe that one thing that SEF does is to provide access – access to the arts, access to community engagement, access to summer enrichment programs through scholarships, access to program development through teacher grants, access to music through program funding, access to fun through community events – the list goes on.
