South Bay Union School District

VAPA/STEM programs: We know that arts education changes the brain to allow for creative thinking and problem solving. We also know that girls and people of color are underrepresented in the computer science sector. We developed an opportunity to include Visual and Performing Arts and STEM as part of our elementary student’s week. The VAPA/STEM Team have developed a curriculum using the UN Global Goals to work through real-world problems. The VAPA curriculum includes visual art, dance, music, and drama. Students perform, use a variety of media, and learn how to provide constructive feedback.

Virtual Academy: Our Virtual Academy was started from necessity during school closures and has become a viable campus meeting the diverse needs in our community. Staff are going through professional development around Project Based Learning with the Buck Institute and are developing projects for their students to engage and are related to local issues. Students love the flexibility of working from home and can come into the school building once or twice a month to build relationships with the teacher and peers.

Equity Work: We are at the beginning of our equity work, but have already developed a draft Equity Plan and started some knowledge building among certificated staff. Next steps include ways to build knowledge among classified staff, and some assessments into where we are as a system.