Danville, CA — The San Ramon Valley Unified School District (SRVUSD) is proud to announce that Coyote Creek Elementary School in San Ramon has been named a California Exemplary Arts Education School by the California Department of Education as part of their California Schools Recognition Program. Coyote Creek is one of only thirteen schools in the State of California to receive this honor.
The California Exemplary Arts Education Award (EAE) Program recognizes some of California’s exemplary schools for excellence in Arts Education. Schools selected for the Exemplary Arts Education Award demonstrate broad-based achievement in Arts instruction and for advancing the Arts for all students. In addition to meeting the Arts Standards and Dashboard eligibility criteria, to apply to be recognized as an Exemplary Arts Awardee, schools must offer instruction to all students in a minimum of three of the five arts disciplines identified in the Arts Standards and they must also show one level of improvement for at least one student subgroup in one of the following three areas based on the Dashboard: School Climate, Student Engagement, and/or Academic Achievement.
Coyote Creek Elementary was designated by the SRVUSD as an Integrated Arts School beginning in the 2019-2020 school year. Along with a rigorous academic program, Coyote Creek offers theatre, music, visual art, dance, and media arts experiences to all students both as independent classes and as interdisciplinary subjects woven into core content areas.
“The entire Coyote Creek community — staff, students and parents — are to be commended for their focus on Arts Education,” said SRVUSD Superintendent Rick Schmitt. “This is the first year that Coyote Creek has been officially designated as an Integrated Arts School for the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) in the SRVUSD. To see them honored for their work in their first year is truly exceptional and speaks to the hard work and commitment of everyone in that school community to bring the Arts to every student.”
In addition to Coyote Creek Elementary being named a California Exemplary Arts Education Award-winning School, two SRVUSD schools, Hidden Hills Elementary and Sycamore Valley Elementary, were named as California Distinguished schools this past December. Staying consistent with the California Distinguished Schools Program, the California EAE Award recognizes elementary and middle and high schools in alternate years and allows eligible schools to apply for the California EAE Award once every two years. Schools recognized as a California EAE School Awardee hold the Title for two years.
California Exemplary Arts Education Schools, along with California Distinguished Schools, National Blue Ribbon Schools, National Terrel H. Bell Awardees, and National ESEA Distinguished Schools, all will be honored on February 10, 2020, during an awards ceremony at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.
