Creative Connections in the Community
UCI provides curriculum-based arts projects to K-12 students Claire Trevor School of the Arts students take their creativity and enthusiasm for arts to K-12 schools across Orange County each year, thanks to the Creative Connections program.
in new ways, and planning to continue their work as arts educators in the future. They are wonderful to work with, and will continue to have an immeasurable impact on the youth they serve.”
In the first six months of each year, arts majors serve as Teaching Artist Interns for one to five hours each week, working in local K-12 classrooms to help teach music, dance, studio art, drama, or even incorporating art into a non-art curriculum. For students interested in pursuing a career in arts education, the program provides essential experience working with children in a classroom environment.
For teachers across the county, Creative Connections provides additional energy and talent to support often beleaguered arts education programs. Because K-12 budget cuts tend to hit arts education first and hardest, UCI ensures that the schools pay no fee to participate, and instead seeks grant funding to support the program. To improve equity and access to arts education for those most in need, Creative Connections gives priority to local schools that serve low-income students.
“Our Teaching Artist Interns are changing lives through the Creative Connections program – their own lives, first of all,” said Megan Belmonte, Director of Outreach Programs. “Some join the program to give young artists the opportunities they didn’t have. Some join to see if teaching at the K-12 level is right for them. They all end the program having grown as leaders, understanding their own artistic practice
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“It has been fantastic working with the Creative Connections program, it has provided learning opportunities to our students that just would not have been possible otherwise,” says Jason Grenier an arts teacher for the Irvine Unified School District who frequently accepts artist interns from Creative Connections.
Image: Sukanya Kumar (MFA ’18), teaches Indian Dance to students in the Santa Ana Unified School District Photo: Will Tee Yang
