Our 60th Year
Back in January 2017, the board of directors of Young Audiences of Northern California adopted a “Bridge to 60 Years” plan in preparation for our 60th Anniversary that commenced September 2018. At that time we identified three key goals that would further our mission of creating art experiences that inspire young people, expand learning, and enliven communities. These goals guided the principles of our work leading up to, and during, our 60th Anniversary:
- Develop an innovative program that propels arts learning into the next 60 years: In partnership with the South San Francisco Unified School District and Arts Ed Matters, we took a deep dive into STEM + Arts Integration, developing comprehensive curriculum and a collaborative professional development model for classroom teachers and teaching artists.
- Create more opportunities for Bay Area artists: By expanding our after-school and out-of-school programming in partnership with community-based organizations and school districts, we not only increased our direct services to children by 124%, we found meaningful work opportunities for professional teaching artists throughout the Bay Area.
- Honor the many people who have kept arts education relevant and vital to all children of the Bay Area: To celebrate these individuals, Arts Access for All was revitalized, a special initiative that through donations and grants fills the gap between what schools can afford, what children need, and what artists deserve to earn. This initiative included a special Classical Arts Fund – paying tribute to one of our steadfast advocates and supporters, Gretchen Kimball.
Behind the scenes, we embarked on an 18-month Organizational Effectiveness plan, generously supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Our work with three consultants placed us in a strong position to continue our journey of reaching children where they live, learn and play with deeper and more relevant arts engagement.
To that end, we are proud to present this Annual Review that highlights the many successes we achieved together during the 2018-19 school year. Your support helped us get here. Stay tuned, there’s certainly more to come!