The Advancement Grant Program offers flexible matching grants to support Los Angeles County school districts aiming to provide quality arts education for public school students. Grant funds assist school districts in achieving key action items in their district arts plans, helping districts invest in launching or expanding projects that align with priority goals, and cultivating skills and practices that can be sustained beyond the term of the grant. Districts may apply for matching funds of up to $25,000.
Underwritten by the Funders Council, this program offers financial support to school districts in the Arts Ed Collective. Grants are matched by school district funds, leveraging public and private resources to expand high quality instruction in dance, media arts, music, theatre and visual arts. A complete list of grantee projects can be found below.
In 2017–18, the Arts Ed Collective offered $630,000 in financial support to 37 school districts and one charter network through the Advancement Grant program.
2017–18 Advancement Grant Recipients
Antelope Valley Union High School District: $19,500 to support student field trips, teacher professional development, externship opportunities for arts specialists, instructional materials and the expansion of district arts coordination.
Beverly Hills Unified School District: $19,700 to support teacher professional development for elementary dance integration, middle school theatre integration and development of a high school arts academy.
Burbank Unified School District: $19,200 to support artist residencies in music and visual arts, districtwide teacher professional development, curriculum writing for districtwide elementary music, and instrument repairs and purchases.
Centinela Valley Union High School District: $18,300 to support arts integration implementation through professional performances, teacher professional development and instructional materials.
Claremont Unified School District: $18,700 to support the expansion of district arts coordination that will launch implementation of a newly updated arts education plan.
Compton Unified School District: $19,800 to support the purchase of visual arts curriculum and teacher professional development for districtwide elementary.
Covina-Valley Unified School District: $16,700 to support the development and implementation of integrated visual arts and coding lessons.
Culver City Unified School District: $18,900 to support the purchase of musical instruments districtwide for elementary band and orchestra.
Downey Unified School District: $17,200 to support arts integration professional development for grade-level teams at each school in the district.
Duarte Unified School District: $11,600 to support professional development for elementary visual arts integration.
East Whittier City School District: $19,000 to support the purchase of instructional materials and instruments for the implementation of VAPA instruction.
El Monte Union High School District: $1,100 to support arts education strategic planning and communication.
El Rancho Unified School District: $20,600 to support teacher professional development and the purchase of visual arts curriculum and materials districtwide for elementary.
Gorman Joint School District: $16,100 to support elementary residencies, teacher professional development in arts integration, district arts coordination, instructional materials and equipment.
Hacienda La Puente Unified School District: $18,800 to support teacher professional development and curriculum development in arts integration.
Hawthorne School District: $20,100 to support teacher professional development in arts integration, material and supplies and the expansion of parent recruitment and training for Arts Docent program.
ICEF Public Schools: $5,000 to support districtwide arts access by the addition of a part-time visual arts instructor.
Keppel Union School District: $21,000 to support elementary student residencies and teacher professional development in Dance, Media Arts, Music and Theatre.
Lancaster School District: $17,900 to support professional development, participation in the arts committee, purchase of musical instruments and the CREATE festival of student art work.
Las Virgenes Unified School District: $10,000 to support districtwide teacher professional development in music and dance integration.
Lawndale Elementary School District: $10,000 to support districtwide artist performances and teacher professional development in arts integration.
Monrovia Unified School District: $19,600 to support the expansion of the districtwide elementary vocal music program.
Montebello Unified School District: $17,900 to support districtwide high school theatre residencies and teacher professional development for a theatre specialist from the Hong Acting Workshop.
Mountain View School District: $17,900 to support the expansion of district arts coordination that will assist in the implementation of a newly updated arts education plan.
Newhall: $20,100 to support districtwide dance residencies for sixth grade students and the expansion of teacher professional development in arts integration.
Norwalk La Mirada Unified School District: $20,400 to support districtwide teacher professional development and the purchase of technology equipment and instructional materials for a VAPA specialist and to support curriculum development for elementary music.
Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District: $11,800 to support an integrated design thinking and engineering program for third grade students district wide.
Paramount Unified School District: $18,000 to support the initiation of a visual arts program for kindergarten through fifth grade by a part-time arts instructor.
Pasadena Unified School District: $21,400 to support theatre residencies for transitional kindergarten through first grade students districtwide.
Pomona Unified School District $19,400 to support the expansion of elementary professional development in visual arts from The California Arts Project, and the development of elementary visual arts curriculum by the site arts leads.
Rosemead School District: $10,000 to support teacher professional development and curriculum development in STEAM integration.
Saugus Union School District: $18,300 to support dance residencies for sixth grade students districtwide, curriculum development, and teacher professional development in arts integration.
South Pasadena Unified School District: $20,900 to support the expansion of district arts coordination, teacher professional development for arts specialists, supplies for elementary visual arts and music, middle school music and secondary AP photography course.
Sulphur Springs Union School District: $11,900 to support professional development and district wide arts residencies for second through sixth grade students.
Temple City Unified School District: $3,200 to support the creation of an arts scope and sequence for kindergarten through eighth grade.
Walnut Valley Unified School District: $21,200 to support districtwide third grade dance residencies and teacher professional development in dance.
Whittier City School District: $18,900 to support teacher professional development for an arts specialist and the purchase of visual arts curriculum.
Whittier Union High School District: $19,900 to support teacher professional development for districtwide arts specialists, curriculum development and the documentation of student work for the new district VAPA website.