POWAY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION

The Organizations Arts in Education Initiative is a series of programs designed to offset cutbacks and deficits in the Arts Programs in our schools and assist public-school districts in meeting the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) standards set by the State of California. The organization provides valuable learning opportunities that include in-school workshops, classes with visiting artists, a one-week all expenses paid theatre camp, a series of virtual learning programs, student matinee performances and more. These programs introduce children to the world of theatre, dance and music while providing children, teachers, and parents with a platform to develop artistic and creative abilities, critical thinking, teamwork and social skills. All program components are created in cooperation with teachers and principals to assure alignment with the States VAPA Standards.ArtsEd OnStage is a student matinee program that provides local students the opportunity to experience live theater. Performances are curated based on cultural awareness, language and theatrical arts, and art inspired by science. Study guides, bookmarks and arts-related activity sheets are provided for teachers and students. The matinee program serves an average of 3,400 students from five school districts each year.A Virtual Performance Curriculum (VPC) program was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to address the need for arts education in a virtual learning environment and is now used by educators to provide arts exposure in their classrooms. Each module is self-contained and asynchronous, consisting of a professional performance video, interactive pre-show content, 360? virtual tour of the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, and Standards-based VAPA extension activities. Poway OnStage offers eight to ten Virtual Performance Curriculum titles in English and Spanish each year, serving an average of 110,000 students, teachers, and families from 20 states and 2 countries. Introduction to Instruments features local high school band students hosting assemblies with all PUSD 4th graders. These entertaining and engaging performances introduce students to instrument families (woodwind, brass, strings, percussion) and encourage participation in the 5th grade music programs. This program serves all 25 PUSD elementary schools in the district - approximately 2,500 4th graders. Missoula Children's Theatre is a comprehensive, one-week, all-expenses paid theatre camp for youth ages 5-18. About 60 students are selected from as many as 180 who audition for the opportunity at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts. The week covers all aspects of theater production from auditions, singing and dancing, rehearsals, theater tech and final performances. The public performance of the production is professionally recorded and used as the performance video in a Poway OnStage virtual program.The Arts in Education Initiative also offers a variety of in-school workshops, assemblies and master classes with local teaching artists and select touring artists. These experiences are intended to provide interactive and hands-on experiences for students to learn about instruments and music of different cultures, the principles of acting and improvisation, the basics of dance, the art of storytelling, and more.