Valleywide : 6 Local Kids Granted Arts Scholarships

Six San Fernando Valley children are among 26 elementary school students who were awarded scholarships to attend the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts this month.

They are Sika Ametu, Militza Cummings, Traci Elize, Diego Martinez, Ezequel Ruvalcaba and Rigoberto Tolentino. Traci attends Canoga Park Elementary School and the others attend Sylmar Elementary.

Ranging in age from 10 to 12, the recipients will attend one- or two-week educational workshops on art, music, drama and dance.

“Everything we do in the summer program is hands-on, participatory,” said Steve Fraider, director of extended education for the arts school. “We hope that by giving them an intensive experience, they will get excited about the arts.”

Winners were selected through L.A.’s Best, a 7-year-old partnership of private and public agencies that provides free after-school activities for about 4,500 children living in areas prone to gangs, drugs and crime.

“These are children that teachers and principals believed would benefit from a campership,” said Francine Harcum, L.A.’s Best administrator. “They were looked at because they had an interest and a talent.”

The scholarships cover the $375-per-week cost of the workshops and transportation expenses. The 205-acre Idyllwild campus is located in the San Jacinto Mountains above Palm Springs.

“We’re taking them out of their environment and putting them in a creative environment,” Harcum said. “It’s all part of giving them an alternative to hanging out on the streets. We want to expose them to something positive.”

Nearly 100 students have attended the arts school via the scholarship program. Funding for the scholarships was provided by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation.

“We’re looking to really help kids who would otherwise not be able to play,” Fraider said.

L.A.’s Best was created in 1988 by the Los Angeles mayor’s office, the Community Redevelopment Agency, the Los Angeles Unified School District and several private firms.