Second of two parts.
Re: “Chardiet Ranks School Bond Priorities”
[Editor’s Note: Second in a series of interviews with leaders of the school community conducted by activist Scott McVarish for his “Great Schools Project.” Today’s subject: School Board member Laura Chardiet.]
Scott McVarish: We have something called the Culver City Compact. You brought that into the city and into our District. Tell us about it.
Laura Chardiet: “The Culver City Compact is a formalized agreement between us and all of our partners in the community. We’ve met three times to map out what our resources are. That’s the first step, mapping out what already is in place, where the gaps are and how we are going to fill them. We have agreed upon specific goals to benefit our children: 100 percent will graduate from high school and 100 percent will have pathways to career education programs. We already have awesome partnerships with our city, community-based organizations, surrounding universities, parent groups and with our union partners. I wanted to formalize those partnerships with an agreement to work more efficiently together. This will help us leverage our resources more collaboratively. Our superintendent likes to call it a declaration of our interdependence.
“Now we are trying to put together a structural framework of how that is going to work. One thing that would benefit us is if we had dedicated staff whose job it is to make those things happen faster.”
AVPA, Academy of Visual and Performing Arts
Mr. McVarish: I have taken my daughter to performances at the high school and Middle School. Even the Middle School’s recent Wizard of Oz production was produced by kids, directed by kids, written by kids, and obviously performed by kids. Talk to us about how the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts (AVPA) and other programs are such a great strength. How might we build on that?
Ms. Chardiet: “First, Sony Pictures Studios is an incredibly generous partner, which allows us to have an amazing arts program. Part of the reason we have been able to maintain such a great arts program is because we have generous donors and people who are dedicated to making it a priority. Not only do we have the AVPA but also the Front and Center Theater Arts collaborative, which is in conjunction with Sony Pictures. And we have the Fineshriber Foundation that has been very supportive of the arts. Even at the height of the recession, the School Board maintained funding for our arts program. We are committed because we see how beneficial it is. We are committed to having our kids have options. Arts programs bring more than just arts education.”
Mr. McVarish: Do you see the arts as a viable career track for many students or are you looking at it as expanding their intelligences? Or both?
Ms. Chardiet: “It is both. We have a lot of opportunities that we can take advantage of because we are in Culver City. We have apprenticeship programs moving forward at West L.A College, which has a great technical theatre program. They have an apprenticeship program with the unions so that students can matriculate through those programs. When my daughter was in elementary school, she was in the art programs with The Actor’s Gang. She was having trouble reading. So her self-esteem was low. In the program she played a parrot where she sat on an adult actor’s shoulder and got to mimic him. That experience of being on stage and being well-received did so much for her and for her self-esteem. I don’t think we can overestimate that power. Performing arts, visual arts, music all can speak to a child’s passion. They are not going to know it’s their passion until somebody introduces it to them. That is why we have to continue doing it.”
Mr. McVarish: Kids learn by seeing what their parents do. You are the creator, director and producer of the PTA’s wonderful Honorary Service Awards, a musical extravaganza done every year. Can we let kids see the amazing artists that we have as parents? Maybe relocate it to the Kirk Douglas Theatre to accommodate the number of people who should see this?
Top Three Priorities
Mr. McVarish: What should be the District’s top three areas of focus for the next few years?
Ms. Chardiet: “No. 1 is improving our facilities, spending the bond money wisely. We want to benefit the students as soon as possible. No. 2 is to keep moving forward so that we provide apprenticeship and career pathway programs for our high school students. We put a lot of attention into getting our students into college. It’s not enough for students just to have a high school diploma. You need at least a high school diploma and two years of college. I don’t feel, however, that going into the trades is less of a choice. It should be valued.”
Mr. McVarish: Administering the Adult School program has given you an understanding that many kids don’t go to college. What happens to them if they are not prepared for an alternative to the college track?
Ms. Chardiet: “If the students are struggling, not really into working with papers and books but are great with their hands, that needs to be cultivated and supported. Our District is succeeding in getting someone’s passion for the arts ignited. We also have students whose work with their hands speaks to them. We need to value that and show those students the way forward.
“No. 3 priority is having less variability at school sites. This was an area of focus for me when I first came on the Board. It continues to be something I am passionate about. As a District, we are doing a much better job with having less variability at school sites regarding technology, arts programs, athletic programs that will benefit the students at those schools. Some schools don’t have the same parent affluence. They need a extra support.”
Mr. McVarish: Give me an example of how a school might have benefited in the past year by the District having less variability?
Ms. Chardiet: “Some schools have been able to raise money for iPads in the classroom. Other schools weren’t able to raise that kind of money. The Education Foundation stepped in and said ‘Ttis school may have lots of iPads and doesn’t need support from us. But the same school may need the support from us for smart boards or arts education.’
“Some schools offered fine arts but other schools didn’t. Now fine arts is offered at all elementary schools and more in the Middle School.”
Mr. McVarish: We sort of grow as a District together. I love the idea of having a successful program at one school becoming the model for other schools to learn from.
Ms. Chardiet: “Yes, like at El Marino. The Ride ‘n Roll Day grew and is now benefitting all of our schools so that they are walking and rolling to school. The ‘Growing Great Gardens’ did the same thing. Now all the schools have a Growing Great Garden. There is no reason everybody shouldn’t be enjoying all of those programs.”
Mr. McVarish may be contacted at scott@forgreatschools.org and facebook.com/forgreatschools
