Arts education has a positive impact on students throughout California, and on March 6, the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) honored three area school principals for championing arts education in our schools.
The Principal Arts Leadership (PAL) Award honors principals who are making a difference in the arts. Awards program partners include the SCOE Leadership Institute, For Arts' Sake Sacramento, and the Mondavi Center.
The program recognizes principals who believe that the visual and performing arts are vital for motivating students and facilitating their success.
2012 PAL Award Recipients
- Paula Duncan, Principal
Sheldon High School, Elk Grove Unified School District - Michelle Ramirez, Principal
Carriage Drive Elementary School, San Juan Unified District - Janis Wade, Principal
Fairbanks Elementary School, Twin Rivers Unified School District
Each principal was recognized for effective leadership in supporting and promoting arts education as a way to excite, engage and inspire students. The PAL presentations had special meaning due to the fact that they were made during California Week of the School Administrator, when school leadership is celebrated throughout the state.
The awards were presented at a regional arts forum at a luncheon held at SCOE. During a day-long arts education forum called "Arts — Out of the Box," presenters provided demonstration lessons on incorporating dance, visual arts, theater and music into classrooms.
The arts forum was sponsored by funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in support of the California County Superintendent Education Services Association Arts Initiative.