Arts and Culture

Arts Education Funding in California: How Will Proposition 28 Roll Out?

Austin Beutner, the former superintendent of LAUSD who spearheaded Proposition 28, recently talked with EdSource about how the groundbreaking arts education initiative will roll out and why this is such a game-changer for California public education. Proposition 28 creates a guaranteed annual funding stream for music and arts education by setting aside 1% from the state’s general fund. In 2023, that comes out to roughly $941 million.

Published

2 years ago

February 25, 2023

Oakland Post

Proposition 28 creates a guaranteed annual funding stream for music and arts education by setting aside 1% from the state's general fund.

By Karen D’Souza
EdSource

Austin Beutner recalls struggling to fit in at a new school as a fifth grader. He felt awkward and alone until the music teacher suggested he try playing an instrument. Beutner took up the cello and found his voice.

That epiphany transformed his childhood, paving the way for an eclectic career that includes working for the U.S. State Department, serving as vice mayor of Los Angeles, investment banking, philanthropy and keeping the nation’s second-largest school district afloat during the depths of the pandemic.

Beutner, the former superintendent of LAUSD who spearheaded Proposition 28, recently talked with EdSource about how the groundbreaking arts education initiative will roll out and why this is such a game-changer for California public education. Proposition 28 creates a guaranteed annual funding stream for music and arts education by setting aside 1% from the state’s general fund. In 2023, that comes out to roughly $941 million.

What’s your reaction to the measure succeeding?

I’m excited. It’s a meaningful amount of funding. It’s going to make a difference in every school, hopefully for every kid. The key is that art is not a luxury. It’s the glue that binds together a proper and good education. It binds together literacy, math and critical thinking. I don’t know why, frankly, policymakers haven’t made investing in the arts and music more of a priority when the path to a livelihood for so many students in the creative economy in California is right there.

I know the funding will fluctuate with the overall budget. How much funding per child this year?

Based on our estimate, it’s $112 per kid, preschool through 12 plus $85 for every Title 1 (low-income) kid. Every year. Forever. You know, it’ll bump down with some budgets and bump up with others.

How does it compare to other states?

One of the things that we uncovered was just how poorly the state of California was doing in this regard, where barely 1 in 5 public schools have a full-time arts and music program. In New York, it’s 4 out of 5. They have invested more carefully and more thoroughly in arts and arts education for children than California has. So the state of California has to catch up. I think this initiative puts us back in the lead.

How did arts education get cut from the schools in California in the first place?

The original sin is if you cut funding for schools, is that you’re not cutting fat, you’re cutting muscle and bone. You see lots of symptoms of inadequate funding. You see class sizes that are too big. The number of students per credentialed teacher in New York is something like 35% less than it is in California. You also see it in the offering of programs for children. If you’re testing for math and English, then those are probably the last to be cut. The arts are misperceived as extras, and the extras get cut.

Do you see the new arts programming as fluid? Could a school pivot from animation to sculpture to dance over time?

Absolutely. Ideally, you’re not going to pivot every six months. It won’t be a very good program. But they might try something and a year from now, say we’re not seeing what we want. Or they might see something better a year down the road and say, you know, let’s switch to that. But hopefully, schools will make an informed and thoughtful choice.

Why do you see this funding as sparking community engagement?

It’s a good place to start. It’s a path to bringing families in and giving them a voice.

Historically, most school funding in California comes very prescriptively from the top. From Sacramento to school districts, from school districts to schools. They say: Do this. Well, it’s the opposite here, which is, here’s funds for your choice of arts programs. I think there’s some exciting opportunities for school communities to engage around this choice. Imagine, a school might be thinking of a different math curriculum, and they say, “Come on in, families, and let’s have a discussion about math curriculum.” Some will come, I’m sure, but many might be intimidated. But with arts and music, everybody has a point of view. Everybody listens. Everybody watches the Grammys. Everyone will watch the Oscars.

There’s a neat opportunity for school communities to engage and help their school leadership make a good choice.

Tell me about your experience with the cello.

My parents changed jobs, so I had to start a new school in February of fifth grade. Middle of the school year. This was Michigan, but I wasn’t worried about the cold weather outside. It was really cold. I was worried about lunch because as a shy kid in the fifth grade at a new school, my great concern was, who am I going to sit with at lunch? Fortunately, I was invited to a music class. It was a string class, and they handed me a cello. I didn’t know what a cello was. But there was lunch, thank goodness! And for me, cello became bass, bass became guitar. I developed a sense of agency and confidence in high school. I could perform in front of thousands of people before I could speak in front of tens of people. It all started with that connection to other people, feeling safe, feeling like I had found a group of friends.

How long will the program take to find its stride?

It’s early days. Will schools find the best possible program right out the park? Probably not. The money will provide for about 15,000 paying jobs, full and part-time, in public schools. Are there going to be enough teachers, or teaching artists to be found, initially? Probably not. But I’d call those high-class problems because it’s still going to be better than it was. I think if you look five years down the road, the sands will have shifted. That’s where California is better placed than any of the 49 other states because we have so many gifted, creative people in this state, musicians, writers, performers, artists of all kinds, who have had a hard time connecting with the schools.

What’s the next step in the rollout?

The first step involves an advisory council that I’ve gotten together of supporters of the initiative itself to work on three things. The first is just to make sure basic information is well shared. You know, how much is it? How does it work? Some of the basics of implementation. The second would be to elevate best practices in the schools. There are great art programs out there that can help show the way. The third piece is staffing. The money will provide for about 15,000 jobs. How do we better connect that talent, arts educators and teaching artists, to the schools?

When will the funding start to land in schools? This fall?

In substance, yes. As a technical matter, the school year starts July 1. There’s nothing to stop an entrepreneurial school from starting in summer school.

Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

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KarenD’Souza/EdSource0833a02/21/23

https://edsource.org/2023/arts-education-funding-in-california-how-will-proposition-28-roll-out/685800/www/bcn/general/02/newsclip.23.02.21.08.36.01.1.txt

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Arts and Culture

San Jose Jazz Fest ‘24: Fun, Food and an Unforgettable Frankie Beverly Farewell

SAN JOSE — The sounds of summer echoed through the heart of town during the 3-day-long San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2024, held Aug. 9 – 11. Multiple stages hosted a variety of iconic performers such as Incognito; local favorites like Tia Carroll; and trailblazers such as Herbie Hancock. Guests enjoyed dozens of vendors featuring art, gifts, and clothing. Tasty bites included flame-grilled barbeque, seafood and a variety of desserts

Published

3 days ago

September 16, 2024

Oakland Post

Frankie Beverly performing at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2024. Photo Courtesy of Frankie Beverly.

By Carla Thomas

SAN JOSE — The sounds of summer echoed through the heart of town during the 3-day-long San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2024, held Aug. 9 – 11.

Multiple stages hosted a variety of iconic performers such as Incognito; local favorites like Tia Carroll; and trailblazers such as Herbie Hancock.

Guests enjoyed dozens of vendors featuring art, gifts, and clothing. Tasty bites included flame-grilled barbeque, seafood and a variety of desserts.

Oakland entrepreneur Ava Carrie and several friends said it was great to get out, enjoy the sun and hear great music. “This is a wonderful festival and just a great time with friends,” said Carrie.

Festival goer Cin-Dee said she flew in from Virginia to celebrate her birthday in the Bay Area. She was saddened that she missed Frankie Beverly’s farewell tour that kicked off in March when he performed in her area on the east coast, capping a 50-year career. When Cin-Dee noticed Maze would feature Beverly in the line up at the San Jose Jazz Festival, in a tribute to him, she made sure to cut short her touring of Santa Cruz to not miss the performance on Sunday evening. “I am so happy to be here and have this opportunity to see Frankie with Maze,” she said, dancing to the music. “This is really special and it’s great to see Frankie on stage and hear my favorite songs.”

Maze performed favorites in tribute to Beverly while introducing their new lead singer, Tony Lindsay. During the last stretch of the concert, Beverly performed, “Happy Feelings,” and “I Wanna Thank You.” The performance was emotional for Beverly as the audience stood up and danced during the entire performance, capturing the historic moment on their cell phones.

Maze was founded by Beverly in 1970 in Philadelphia and was recognized by Marvin Gaye when they relocated to the Bay Area in 1971. The group went on to earn nine gold albums between 1977 and 1993 with mega hits such as “Happy Feelin’s” and “Before I Let Go.” Beverly, known for his soulful baritone voice, wrote hit after hit during his five-decade career. Beverly said he was initially inspired by the pacesetting R&B doo-wop group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.

Performances at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest also included the John Santos Sextet, the San Jose Jazz High School All Stars, Faye Carol, Delfaeyo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, David Benoit Quartet, Andre Thierry Accordion Soul, Ayo Brame, The Family Stone, and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra.

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Arts and Culture

African American Historic Ties to Blue Jeans Revealed in Indigo-Dyeing Workshop at Black-Eyed Pea Festival

Oakland-based artist Reshawn Goods, also known as Bushmama, will host a hands-on workshop that connects present-day blue jeans to the skills of enslaved Africans at the 9th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival on Sept. 14 at Marston Campbell Park at 17th and West streets. Indigo is a plant that is cultivated in a number of places around the world, including India and and Africa. Indigo dyes were introduced in America as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Many of the enslaved African people knew how to propagate indigo to create dye from the plant.

Published

1 week ago

September 10, 2024

Oakland Post

Workshop participants show how the dye looks on their skin. Prolonged exposure over years of dyeing will make the blue skin permanent. Photo courtesy Reshawn Goods

By Daisha Williams

Indigo is a plant that is cultivated in a number of places around the world, including India and Africa.

Indigo dyes were introduced in America as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Many of the enslaved African people knew how to propagate indigo to create dye from the plant. Indigo was used to dye clothes throughout all of West Africa, often referred to as blue gold. Wearing these clothes was a symbol of wealth. The Yoruba of Benin, the Manding of Mali, and the Hausa of Kano were renowned for indigo processing and dyeing.

According to Goods, the Europeans liked the colors that this dye produced and made slaves continuously produce it. Another crop that they cultivated was cotton, still something used for much of our clothing today.

When talking about the historical significance of indigo for Black Americans Goods said, “Slaves at that time were given a ration of clothes once a year… this cloth was very coarse and harsh to the skin. So, one slave decided to dip their clothes in the indigo vat and this was the early beginnings of what denim became to be. People will say that Levi Strauss created jeans, but we created jeans.”

At Goods’ workshop, attendees will be able to use cotton, indigo, and denim to create patches that resonate with them that will be used to form a family quilt. This fun and free craft has a lot of historical significance.

“When you go to school you learn about slaves, but you don’t learn about where they came from or what they brought with them,” said Bushmama. “That’s not part of the narrative… we brought so much with us, and that part is not shared. I feel that if we knew how powerful we were it would help us to elevate. That would help to dismantle white supremacy.”

Bush has been creating ever since she was young. Her first exhibition was in 1994 and was also where she sold her first piece. Since then, she has continued using art to create awareness within the Black community.

Before the counterculture of the 1960s, dungarees weren’t even sold in department stores but rather Army-Navy and hardware stores. They were really cheap but sturdy and only made in men’s sizes. Eventually, blue jeans began to be used by designers and became fashion statements that can cost hundreds of dollars.

Many Black Americans are unfamiliar with this history, and with conservative pushback against things like Critical Race Theory, many pieces of history like this are left untold.

That’s why having workshops like these is so important, it shines a light on the parts of history that have been hidden in the shadows while empowering the Black community by connecting them to their roots.

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Arts and Culture

Chef Wanda Blake Honors Black Culture Through Food at Black-Eyed Pea Festival

Chef Wanda Blake, a legacy food ambassador for Farms to Grow, Inc., will honor the history of Black farmers and Black cuisine by creating a food altar for this year’s annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival on Sept. 14 at Marston Campbell Park at 17th and West streets. Blake is a chef who incorporates history and culture into her foods, using her awareness of Black history to enrich both the body and the mind. With this in mind, Blake’s altar will highlight red foods and their significance to the Black community.

Published

1 week ago

September 10, 2024

Oakland Post

Chef Wanda Blake. Courtesy photo

By Daisha Williams

Blake is a chef who incorporates history and culture into her foods, using her awareness of Black history to enrich both the body and the mind. With this in mind, Blake’s altar will highlight red foods and their significance to the Black community.

Red is associated with the blood shed during slavery and that blackness and pain are often intertwined with one another.

The practice of eating red foods and drinks for Juneteenth and other gatherings was popularized in Texas, which may have been influenced by Yoruba and Congo cultures. Red symbolizes spiritual power and transformation in both of these cultures.

Blake says that things like “red drink” are examples of the ancestors’ ability to find value in the things around them. “Red drink” was a type of hibiscus tea, sweetened with honey. Hibiscus is now known to be hydrating, and helps with high blood pressure, blood sugar and menstrual cramps.

Like black-eyed peas, watermelon is part of Black history as it was cultivated in Africa. And, according to Wikipedia, red velvet cake — an iconic dessert — may “have origins in 1911 when Rufus Estes, a formerly enslaved person and chef, incorporated a recipe for a sweet velvet cake in his cookbook.”

The color red also has ties to enslaved ancestors beyond food. There are tales of African people being lured to slave ships using red cloth, which was a rarity and highly prized. such as. Red handkerchiefs were considered powerful objects.

Blake learned to cook the way many Black women do, from her mom, and later from aunties and grandmothers as well. Food, family, and culture are so intertwined with each other, and Blake never forgets that when navigating her career. This explains her strong ties between food and culture.

As she’s taken recipes into her own hands, she has added her own creativity into. For example, at previous Black-Eyed Pea Festivals, she has created many different black-eyed pea dishes, including a hummus-like dip, chili, pies, and hoppin’ john pasta.

Blake is the legacy food ambassador for Farms to Grow Inc. Farms to Grow is a nationwide 501c3 nonprofit organization that works with Black farmers, and other farmers who struggle due to systemic oppression such as Indigenous people, Latinx people and other minority groups. Their goal is to keep underserved farmers able to grow and produce food not just now, but for future generations as well.

Blake holds the title of ‘Legacy Food Ambassador’ for consciously integrating culture into her meals, as well as keeping an awareness about cultural food security. Blake was born in Lewisville, Ark., and then moved to San Francisco, first studying at City College of San Francisco.

The 9^th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival takes place on Sat. Sept. 14 at Marston Campbell Park at 17^th and West in West Oakland. Free and family friendly, take BART, the bus or car service and bypass parking. See you there.