Tara Graviss is the executive director of Arts for Learning San Diego, an affiliate of Young Audiences National, providing arts education and professional development in San Diego County schools. By LISA DEADERICKMAY 18, 2019 6 AM Tara Graviss understands the importance of the arts in people’s lives because they’ve been such a large, critical part of her own life. As someone who was artistic growing up, later becoming an expressive arts therapist and leading an arts education nonprofit, she’s seen and experienced how being able to express yourself through the arts can lead to healthy gro ..read more

As the school year kicked off this fall the office at A4LSD was buzzing with energy and excitement. We've been told by many that the excitement dies down as holidays ramp up and fall settles into San Diego (as much as Fall ever really settles in here). We are still buzzing and it's not the coffee, even though the office is located across from Pumpkin Spice Latte central. We are so excited about the offerings we are able to provide in our residencies, professional development, and community programs this year! We will be all over the county with Residency Programs (we've got 61 going so far ..read more

Olivia is already actively engaging with the staff to impart her wisdom as a nonprofit consultant with Arts for Learning San Diego! We are very excited to bring her on-board ..read more

We continue to serve students as local schools move to distance learning. We are so grateful for our school partners who value arts education as we do! One of these school partners is Rowan Elementary in the San Diego Unified School District. Rowan Elementary is a Title 1 school, meaning that a high percentage of their students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch. We have been working with Rowan for a few years now, providing year-long residencies - 10 weeks of visual art, 10 weeks of dance, and 10 weeks of drumming – to their entire student body. “My kids were excited when they found ou ..read more

Dear Friends, We hope that you and your family are well and staying healthy. The past few weeks have brought changes to our world that we couldn’t have anticipated. Spring is usually Arts for Learning San Diego’s busiest time of the year with Teaching Artists performing for students and families in schools and community venues, teaching students in weekly residencies and workshops, and working side-by-side with teachers to support their daily teaching strategies. Each year our programs reach approximately 65,000 students. At Arts for Learning San Diego, we believe that the arts are a critical ..read more

Teresa first came in contact with Arts for Learning San Diego when her daughter was a student at Ocean Beach Elementary many years ago. Teresa is the Associate Director of STEM Next Opportunity Fund building systems of support for STEM learning opportunities in more than 30 states ..read more

It’s Arts in Education Week around the United States, a time when families, educators, and students recognize and celebrate the important role of the arts in education. Executive director of Arts for Learning San Diego,Tara Graviss, stopped by Good Morning San Diego to discuss why she says children who are engaged with the arts actually enjoy school more and perform better in school. Get involved! Find out how to get the arts (music, theatre, visual arts, dance, literary arts) into your schools! Please help us,  like our Facebook page, donate #ArtsEdWeek hashtag#a4lsd hashtag#artsforlearn ..read more

Arts education benefits students not just in their knowledge of art but in many other subjects as well. Arts education requirements are set by each state, however, and while many states require a certain number of hours or minutes of art education per year, some states have no requirements at all. What can you do to support arts education? A lot. The following tips from Americans for the Arts are intended to help parents and educators inspire a love of art in students. Participate. Sing, play music, read a book, dance or draw with your child at home. Support. Encourage your child to participa ..read more

We all know how important it is to eat local and shop local, and now is your chance to join the movement and GIVE local. Arts Education Connection San Diego is excited to participate in the 2nd annual San Diego Gives, a special day designated to shine a light on the tremendous work of nonprofit organizations throughout San Diego County. 100% of the money raised will stay in San Diego to support our community. On Thursday, September 8, 2022 we will invite the community to join our efforts in raising money to support our mission of providing high-quality arts education programs that inspire stud ..read more

This past summer, Arts Education Connection San Diego partnered with San Diego County Office of Education’s Juvenile Court and Community Schools to introduce The Business of Art to students from Victoria School in San Ysidro and Global Academy in National City. AECSD Teaching Artist Cecelia Linayao and Program Manager Keri Jhaveri met with Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator Amanda Wallace and Warner School District colleagues to gather information for a moveable mural project, which will decorate a new Maker Space for Warner students. Cecelia, a teaching and practicing artist specializing ..read more