Santa Ana Unified School District’s Sierra Preparatory Academy Named 2021 California Exemplary Arts Education Award Recipient
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced this week that Sierra Preparatory Academy, in the Santa Ana Unified School District, has been named a recipient of the 2021 California Exemplary Arts Education Award.
Sierra is among 33 California schools selected for the honor.
Exemplary Arts Education awardees engage students in quality arts education that meet California Arts Standards for Public Schools (Arts Standards) and demonstrate progress on indicators on the California School Dashboard.
The awards celebrate successful efforts to engage students in arts through exposure to a variety of disciplines.
Exemplary Arts Education schools, along with California Distinguished Schools, National Blue Ribbon Schools, and recipients of California Department of Education (CDE) recognition programs, will be honored virtually later this year.
“These schools excelled in providing quality arts education, despite all the obstacles presented by distance learning,” State Superintendent Thurmond said.
“It is with great pleasure we honor these schools for their steadfast dedication to arts education that plays a powerful role in supporting wellness, bridging social divides, and expanding creativity and critical thinking in our students.”
Sierra is a partner school in Turnaround Arts: California, a nonprofit organization that administers the Turnaround Arts program statewide to engage, empower, and transform the state’s highest-need schools and communities through the arts.
Turnaround Arts: California helps connect partner schools with regional arts networks, including community arts organizations, teaching artists, arts and cultural institutions, performance venues, professional learning experts, and higher education professionals in order to build community support systems that lead to sustainable change.