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. Reviewing research, securing quality leadership, and implementing critical skill sets in art education were essential components for a solid curriculum foundation. VAPA has dramatically enhanced the learning experiences for over 41% of the more than 31,000 student population, and continues to successfully survive the COVID-19 pandemic via virtual lessons, performances, and exhibits.

Highlights of the Moreno Valley Unified School District’s VAPA program are:

Document Today

“Document Today” is an intentional approach for social and emotional well-being. It is about encouraging our students to use the arts (Visual, Music, Dance, Theater, Literary Arts) to share their feelings about the world we find ourselves in, and how they are coping emotionally with this pandemic. Art kits with drawing supplies were purchased for every student in the district. The district is also creating an archive of student submissions to share their pandemic experiences, from a student perspective, with future generations. Initiatives like Document Today are essential for students to explore and express their emotional health and create connections with teachers.

New Performing Arts Center

As part of the district arts plan, construction of the new Performing Arts Center for Moreno Valley High School began in 2018. This 624 seat theater will have state-of-the-art LED lighting and digital sound. The sixty-foot proscenium will provide one of the largest stages for student performances in southern California. This facility is currently scheduled to open at the end of this school year and will include student classrooms for their CTE Arts and Entertainment pathway as well as Band, Choir, and Theater.

Increased Opportunities for Students

Since 2015, the school district has provided new opportunities for arts experiences for both students and families, including honor bands and choirs, art shows for all grade levels, and summer arts experiences for students. Our VAPA program provides end-of-the-year updates every June for our school board and community. Read June of 2020 here on the VAPA Final Report.

Follow @Morenovalleyusd and @morenovalleyusdvapa on all social media platforms to stay connected with the #MVUSDDocToday campaign and other VAPA highlights!

DOWNLOAD Amplifying the Arts, Volume 7

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.