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CUSD Superintendent Brawley Receives Turnaround Arts Creative Leadership Award

Media Release
 

Compton Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Darin Brawley received a Creative Leadership award from Turnaround Arts: California last night. The award was in recognition of the district’s commitment to the arts as an essential tool for learning engagement and college and career readiness in the 21st century. The award was presented to Dr. Brawley, and five other Superintendents, at a reception at the Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

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McKinley Principal Takisha Spears, Turnaround Arts Chair Malissa Feruzzi Shriver, Dr. Darin Brawley, King Principal Monique Pugh, and CUSD Sr. Director of Partnerships Michelle Edgar.

“We’re thrilled to have Turnaround Arts as a partner and thank them for this award,” said Dr. Brawley. “Research shows that the arts have a significant impact on students’ performance in school, from improved learning, increased self-confidence, enhanced collaboration skills, and community building. The staffs at King and McKinley Elementary, and Whaley Middle School have seen amazing results working with Turnaround Arts and we look forward to continuing the relationship.”

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The first Creative Leadership Awards honors select superintendents from across California who have a longstanding commitment to equitable arts access in their schools.

“With everything a District Superintendent oversees and is accountable for, it is a rare and brave leader who empowers principals and teachers to do this kind of innovative and creative work,” says Malissa Shriver, Co-founder and Board Chair of Turnaround Arts: California. “We have been blessed to be able to partner with these extraordinary professional educators, who have amplified learning and are enhancing teaching through the arts.”

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Decades of research show that students with arts-rich instruction see big leaps in reading and math skills, are five times less likely to drop out of school, and four times more likely to obtain a bachelor's degree. Yet in California – the creative capital of the world, a staggering 61% of public school students don't have access to music and arts education. Compton Unified partners with nationally-recognized nonprofit, Turnaround Arts: California, to help the district bring high-quality arts instruction to its students – from arts-integrated math and history curriculum, to murals, poetry and drumming workshops, family art nights, and more.

Compton Unified has been a partner of Turnaround Arts: California for many years. Turnaround Arts supports schools to strengthen their school-wide arts program and includes funding and support for teacher coaching and professional development, art supplies, partnerships with local arts organizations, arts curriculum development, and more. 

“At a time when schools are grappling with an unprecedented student mental health crisis, 'learning loss,' and high rates of teacher burnout, the arts have been a powerful tool to improve the well-being of students, deepen their engagement in classroom learning, and empower teachers to better meet student needs,” shares Turnaround Arts: California’s Executive Director Barbara Palley. “The arts are an essential tool for building connection and joy of learning in schools.”

Turnaround Arts: California (TA:CA) was founded in 2014 by renowned architect Frank Gehry and arts education advocate Malissa Shriver with the vision that every child in California should have access to the arts as a core component of their education – no matter their zip code. Part of a national partnership with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C, TA:CA’s multi-year program provides educators in California's public schools with coaching and professional development, strategic planning, art supplies, funding, and partnerships with local arts organizations and artists, in order to help bring high-quality arts-integrated education to more public schools. To date, TA:CA has reached more than 35,000 students at 33 public schools across California – from an Indigenous reservation in Hoopa in the northernmost part of the state, to the southernmost border in Chula Vista. 98% of TA:CA’s students are students of color, 93% are socioeconomically disadvantaged, and 35% are English language learners.