Dear Alameda County Parents,

Last week I was in Cleveland, Ohio, for the Arts Education Partnership's fall forum. The AEP conducts three national forums a year exploring important issues, themes, and trends affecting arts in U.S. public schools, and also publishes important and timely information that you can either download or order from their website, http://aep-arts.org/.

The forum attracted nearly 200 attendees from over two dozen U.S. states. Several arts staff members from the U.S. Department of Education attended, as did state policymakers, national arts education organizations, regional arts advocacy organizations, large and small non-profits serving school children, and a few classroom teachers who play leadership roles in policymaking organizations.

Amana Harris of West Oakland's Attitudinal Healing Connection and Kathy Kahn, Alameda County's Arts Active Parent Coordinator (that's me!), were invited to speak at a workshop about parent and community involvement in education reform. The people who came to our workshop represented a good cross-section of the forum's total attendees, and as I listened to them introduce themselves, I was struck by the fact that our workshop had seemed important to these high level policy makers and shapers. Why? Because great education systems can't flourish without the support of their communities, the families of their students.

We hear a lot about failing schools, but nobody who works in a school or school system wants it to fail. Educators at all levels are in this profession because they want their students to be successful. And more and more, schools and districts are recognizing that they need a different relationship with their parent communities. Schools that a few years ago encouraged parents to stick to Back to School Night and fundraisers are now seeking out parents whose expertise and wisdom can help shape school policy.

Now is a very good time for Arts Active Parents to make their presence known! Recognition is building around the nation that test-driven curriculum is not productive for our children. Not coincidentally, we Californians have unprecedented funding for arts education in the state budget. At the same time, many of our schools are experiencing frequent changes of teachers and administrators, shifting priorities year to year, and a lack of stable sense of community for their children.
We need you Arts Active Parents to engage with the decision makers at your school, your district, and the state of California to make sure arts is part of a high quality education for every child, in every school, every day.

If you're meeting with other parents to talk about arts learning or support for arts programs, please let me know about it. If you would like to invite me, I would enjoy coming if I can. If your organization is having an event or conference, I would be pleased to present a workshop, facilitated discussion, or even a panel discussion of other Arts Active Parents. I look forward to hearing from you!

And by the way, I think that there's another reason all those high level policy makers at the Cleveland conference were interested in hearing from us in particular: You. The Arts Active Parents of Alameda County are imaginative and passionate in their support of a great education for their kids. You tend to look beyond the traditional; you have created unusual and localized ways to bring art into the lives of your kids and their classmates. In Cleveland, Amana and I were able to point to a variety of unique projects where you parents are partners with schools and neighborhoods in planting the seeds of art. I applaud you. (Send photos.)
-KATHY KAHN Arts Active Parent Coordinator

SEA ACTIVISTA AL NIVEL FEDERAL:
La Recaudación de Fondos Federales para el Legado Nacional de las Artes.

La N.E.A., aunque su presupuesto anual es casi igual en tamaño que un distrito escolar mediano, parece crear mucha retórica emocional cada vez que se menciona en la discusión del presupuesto. Para ver la situación de este año, conéctese al:
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies: http://www.nasaa-arts.org/nasaanews/2007_urge-increase.shtml
¡Californianos, estamos afortunados! Nuestra Senadora Dianne Feinstein es la presidenta del SUBCOMITÉ de GASTOS de la CÁMARA del SENADO. Para decirle cuan tan importantes son las artes en nuestra sociedad, mándele un correo electrónico a su sitio rédico, http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/, o llámela al conmutador de la Capital al 202-224-3121, o llame a su oficina en San Francisco al 415-393-0707.

¿QUÉ QUIERE SABER?
(¿Ideas para el sitio rédico?)
Nosotros en la Alianza para el Liderazgo del Aprendizaje de las Artes estamos en el proceso de reconsiderar nuestro sitio rédico. Me gustaría proponerle avisarnos de lo que le gustaría ver. ¿Qué tipo de información sobre las artes o la educación en el Condado de Alameda (¡o más allá!) le gustaría pero no ha podido encontrar? ¿Qué podríamos ofrecer en nuestro sitio rédico para hacerle la vida de padre y abogador más fácil?
Visite nuestro sitio rédico actual en: www.artiseducation.org

PARENTS MAKING A DIFFERENCE:
MAKING ART WITH YOUR KIDS

100 Families Lesson Can Be Taken to Your School as
FAMILY ART NIGHT

100 Families Oakland: Art and Social Change
is about engaging families from Oakland neighborhoods in creating art centered around the theme of family, in order to achieve a better understanding of self, family, and community. Now in its second year, the program brings participating families in East Oakland, West Oakland, Fruitvale, and Chinatown together once a week for 10 weeks to create art together with their neighbors. Participants find that their involvement opens a special dialogue between family members. Children, parents, and grandparents come together for art sessions and connect with each other in a supportive and friendly atmosphere while gaining artistic skills. Young children meet elders, families work together, and neighbors meet each other, which promotes the family as a unit and the neighborhood as community.
More information here: http://center.cca.edu/community/100families/

This same dynamic can work in your school, or perhaps it already does. Does your school have a Family Art Night or similar event, where your families can come together and create art while they strengthen community? If you have such an event or program, would you let me know about it? I'd like to know what school it is, the general format of the event, and whether it is primarily driven by school staff or parent groups, and whether it is facilitated by your school's art teacher or an outside artist.

Likewise, if you don't have such an event or program, but you think your school should try it, would you let me know? I'll be gathering information about different ways to do this, and will make sure I pass along helpful information to you as I find it.

Each 100 Families session includes a public exhibition of the artwork created. In June, the families from last spring's East Oakland and Chinatown sessions had a shared exhibition at the Eastmont Branch of the Oakland Public Library. These photos show participants at the opening of the exhibit, admiring each others' projects and their own. What would a family art-making experience at your school look like?

OCTOBER ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS
MOSTLY FOR PARENTS

October 8-12 - National PTA Start the Arts Week
Details here: http://www.pta.org/archive_article_details_1186085137718.html
The national PTA has devoted the cover and lead articles of its August/September magazine Our Children to the arts. The issue is called Better Education through Parent Involvement in the Arts.
http://www.pta.org/pr_magazine_issue_details_1187298849687.html

October 20 - Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network (PLAN)
PLAN hosts Parent Action Forum: The Achievement Gap, Community Violence & Racial JusticeSaturday, October 20, 9am-1pm, First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th Street
For more information and to register, please contact Michelle Matos at (510) 444-7526 or at michelle (at) parentactionnet (dot) org

OCTOBER ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS
FREE AND INEXPENSIVE THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR KIDS

October 21 (Exhibit runs Oct 10- Dec 2)
Oakland: 14th Annual Community Celebration for the Days of the Dead Community Event
Hands-on craft activities, demonstrations, music, dance, ceremonia, food, and a mercado. Fun for all ages! Performers include Ensembles Ballet Folklorico de San Francisco, Orquesta La Moderna Tradici?n, Tamborazo Zacatecano El Herradero, Danza Cuauhtonal, Ixim-Tinamit, Balamcoatl, and singer Yolanda Aranda.
Participation in the celebration is free. General admission to the museum galleries, including Days of the Dead exhibition, will be half-price all day.
For more information visit the museum website:
http://www.museumca.org/exhibit/exhi_days_of_dead.html

October 11 - November 24, 10am to 4pm
Hayward: The Columbarium Installation (Day of the Dead) Exhibit
Sun Gallery 1015 E Street
The Hayward Area Historical Society and Sun Gallery have joined together to present two unique exhibitions exploring the funeral traditions of our community. A reception at Sun Gallery on Nov. 3 starts at 4:30-9pm with food, dance, face painting, & sugar skull decorating! Donation $1.00 Free Art for Families on Sat. October 13, 20, 27 and Nov 3, 10, 17 from 11-1pm.
Hayward Area Historial Society has a reception on Oct. 4, 5:30-7:30pm, Days of the Dead Talk, Oct 25, Lone Tree Cemetery Walking Tour-Nov 10th, McConaghy House tours, and School Tours. Call 510 581-0223.
For more information, contact Christine Bender (510) 581-4050, sungallery7 (at) sbcglobal (dot) net

October 20-December 15, Saturdays 1-5 p.m.
Oakland: The Oakland Public Conservatory of Music presents martial arts and music classes for kids. (monthly fees)
1616 Franklin St., Oakland (close to BART and buses)
For info and costs, visit http:www.opcmusic.org or call 510-836-4649 x 112.
October 31, 9:30am- 1:00pm
Berkeley: 10th Annual Not-Too-Spooky Habitot Halloween
Habitot Children's Museum 2065 Kittredge St.
Description: Wear your costume to Habitot's 10th annual Habitot Halloween event, a not-too-spooky event for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Conduct experiments and make Halloween slime to take home in our "Mad Scientist's Laboratory" and create jack-o-lantern window decorations. Shop for spiders and bugs from our ghoulish Halloween menu or build with giant "candies" in our candyland. Play miniature golf in the graveyard, make ghoulish ghosts to fly in the Ghost Cave, and from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm, listen to Halloween stories.
For more information, visit http://www.habitot.org/

November 2, 9:30am- 4:30pm
Berkeley: Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
Habitot Children's Museum 2065 Kittredge St.
Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a traditional Mexican holiday that celebrates life and spirit. Decorate sugar skulls from 10:30 am - 11:30 am. Enrique Martinez will demonstrate the art of papel picado from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm. Create your own colorful papel picado and paper marigolds in our Art Studio. Listen to stories about Day of the Dead from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm.
For more information, visit http://www.habitot.org/