Arts Education Branch 

Professional development is essential to the competence and overall effectiveness of all teachers.  Participation in continued learning is required and considered to be part of each teacher's obligation to the teaching profession and to the students of the District. It is best when professional development and continued learning is grounded in the instructional goals and programs of the District, the school, the best practices of teachers, and the needs of students and teachers.

The Arts Education Branch is committed to providing quality professional development for its arts teachers.  Professional development is designed to support best teaching practices, to encourage multidisciplinary work, and to support the collaborative work between teachers. 

Music Conferences/Workshops:

CMEA: The California Music Educators Association CMEA-Southwestern Section serves as an umbrella organization for numerous other music education associations within our region. A wealth of resources and workshop opportunities can be found through CMEA.

KASC: The Kodaly Association of Southern California provides workshops and certification courses to support the professional development of general music educators.  The methodology can also be effectively and creatively applied in choral and instrumental classes.

Little Kids Rock: Little Kids Rock believes that learning to play a musical instrument can be a transformative experience in students’ lives, with the power to inspire the creativity and confidence that are critical to success in school and beyond. Little Kids Rock gives free musical instruments, training, and resources to any public school teacher who wants to run a rockin’ music program in their school.

Music Center: The Music Center provides a range of professional development programs and services, all rooted in the California Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Standards, to help teachers along a continuum towards being able to fully integrate the arts into daily classroom instruction. 

Los Angeles Orff: The Los Angeles Chapter of the American Orff Schulwerk Association is a professional organization which aims to further the approach to music and movement education advocated by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman. We believe that through active singing, speaking, playing, moving, listening, and creating, true music education is experienced.

Skirball Center: The Skirball Cultural Center is dedi­cated to exploring the connections between 4,000 years of Jewish heritage and the vitality of American democratic ideals. Educating and inspiring young people is central to the Skirball’s mission. The school and teacher programs use the arts and cultural history to engage people with one another and the larger community and inspire them to make a difference in the world.  

LA Opera: Provides a range of professional development for teachers, rooted in Common Core and California Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) standards, focused on the opera experience and how to integrate opera into daily classroom instruction.  

Blogs by teachers/staff who received an AEB Conference Scholarship