Welcome back everyone! As we start a new school year, RCOE VAPA would like to share several noteworthy arts recognitions in Riverside County from the spring and summer, as well as a few new events just around the corner.

First, a big congratulations to Moreno Valley’s Valley View High School, who was awarded the prestigious California Exemplary Arts Education Award by the California Department of Education. Announced in April of 2021, this award recognizes exemplary arts education programs and practices in public middle schools and high schools. We’re so proud of the outstanding administration team, teachers, and students at Valley View High School!

Also, we are so excited for Ms. Callie Rich Neal who received a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct educational research in Columbia. Ms. Neal is a dance teacher at Poly High School in Riverside and recently presented an arts webinar for RCOE entitled “Dance Around the World.” She will be sharing knowledge and fostering meaningful connections across communities in the United States and Columbia.

RCOE VAPA was delighted that we were able to offer both a virtual solo instrumental and a virtual solo voice festival for middle and high school students last spring. We also launched the inaugural Fine Arts Spectacular. Planning is underway for this year’s iteration of those events.

This coming year we are very pleased to launch the county’s first ever Teen Poet Laureate. This year’s selected poet laureate, along with several finalists, will have their work published in a special edition chapbook. They will also have speaking opportunities to share their work during their tenure.

Finally, RCOE VAPA is underway on the planning of a brand-new Monologue Festival for drama students. The event chairperson is Carol Hernandez, VAPA Co-Lead in Murrieta USD, who has an extensive personal and professional background in theater. We are looking forward to sharing more details as the school year unfolds.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 1

Innovative approaches for equitable and exciting opportunities in the visual and performing arts for students during school closures from Riverside County Arts leads.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 2

Meridy Volz's "Art with Heart" program at Indio Juvenile Hall was an instant success, and she was determined to continue teaching even as COVID-19 prevented her from entering the facility.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 3

The Our Town Cultural Arts Program brings the cultural arts into elementary school classrooms in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District, engaging students in the traditions and cultures of the citizens who make up our community and the students who sit in our classrooms.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 4

Lady Lead (LL) was founded five years ago by Louisa Higgins, Visual and Performing Arts, and Sarah Scheideman, Artist from Palm Springs Unified School District as a way for middle school girls of promise to interact with female art mentors while doing an arts and crafts project.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 5

Riverside Unified School District's performing arts students join in a partnership project with the community.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 6

In the spring of 2020 the Val Verde Unified School District initiated a Student Quarantine Art Contest, inspired by the Getty Challenge. Students were asked to select a piece of artwork from Google Arts and Culture and re-create it.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 7

The Moreno Valley Unified School District’s Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) program was reinvented in 2015 as an investment for all students and has proven to be an exceptional program with its recent Golden Bell Award designation.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 8

In this month’s edition of Amplifying the Arts, we would like to celebrate the California School Board Association Golden Bell Award received by Murrieta Valley Unified School District’s VAPA program called Horizons Unlimited. 

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 9

Riverside County Office of Education, Visual and Performing Arts, is proud to partner with the McCallum Theatre Education to present its online series.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 10

Riverside County Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) is pleased to partner with Desert X to announce its student and family resources for the 2021 Exhibition.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 11

The Riverside County Office of Education is proud to support Mono County Office of Education (MCOE), which is one of the four collaborative counties in the Region 10 service region of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA).