Schools tackle art

THE Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has provided leadership in arts education, an area much discussed in “The City’s State of the Arts,” [March 23]. In 2002, the board adopted Arts for All, a regional blueprint to achieve quality arts education for all 1.7 million students in public school in L.A. County. Now six years into implementation, 29 of the county’s 80 school districts are actively working toward this goal, reaching more than a quarter-million students. LAUSD, which serves 700,000 students, has committed more than $40 million to continue building its extraordinary arts education services in elementary schools.

The terrific arts education programs of the L.A. Philharmonic, L.A. Opera, Center Theatre Group and LACMA (all organizations receiving major support from L.A. County), are among the more than 300 programs regional arts organizations provide to schools. Many of the best of these programs are aggregated on laartsed.org, which provides one-stop shopping for teachers.

While arts organizations’ programs are critical to the success of quality arts education, ultimate responsibility for achieving the goal of equitable arts education for every student must be the responsibility of the school districts. In L.A. County, school districts are embracing this challenge and succeeding.

Laura Zucker

Los Angeles

Zucker is the executive director of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

Iwas excited to see this article until I realized that there was no one speaking on behalf of dance in Los Angeles. Apparently, dance is just left for dead by the side of the cultural road. Placido Domingo, for whom I have great admiration, suggests that “we should initiate a festival.” A festival with no dance? I don’t think so!

Do I like having to drive to OCPAC, where major European, Russian and American companies are presented for an entire week’s worth of performances, and to Irvine Barclay at UC Irvine to see dance? No, I do not! Would I rather the thousands of dollars that my friends and I spend there stay in Los Angeles? You bet!

Without a commitment to dance, we aren’t on the same level as Orange County, much less Chicago or New York.

Jaycie Ingersoll

Beverly Hills