“I find Mariposa’s Art helpful because it gives me confidence in myself and it helps me to give confidence in others. I also like Mariposa’s Art because it’s fun and I love art. It gives me a chance to speak my opinions and be expressive in my art.”
- Olivia Jackson, age 11
Art Teach Program
Art Teach is a model community service-learning program where high school students engage in an intensive teacher training and then travel to elementary schools and teach art to elementary school students in after-school programs.
This opportunity provides high school youth not only the pride and excitement of a paid job, but also a window into the experience of teaching. Elementary school students are delighted to have high school role models and to have the opportunity to create art together and learn about themselves.
High school students receive minimum wage pay for their internship, earn elective credits, and provide service to elementary school sites that are lacking in art and enrichment programs.
For the first six weeks of the program, high school students engage in teacher training and curriculum development. For the remaining twelve weeks of the program, students travel to school sites to co-teach art with professional artists.
Guitar Teach Program
The Guitar Teach program is modeled after the incredible success of Art Teach!
In this program, high school guitar players engage in an intensive teacher training and then travel to elementary and middle schools and teach guitar to students in after-school programs.
These student teachers become leaders, mentors and role models by co-teaching middle and elementary school students with professional musicians.
For the first six weeks of the program, high school students engage in teacher training and curriculum development. For the remaining twelve weeks of the program, students, together with a professional musician, travel to school sites and teach rhythm games, music theory, and guitar.
Art & Leadership Development Programs
The Art & Leadership program uses arts education to inspire students to create art while learning leadership skills. Art & Leadership students learn the techniques needed to work with a variety of art media and genres, from printmaking to multimedia self-portraiture. Leadership themes are used to inspire the art the students create. This program is built to encourage the development of artistic skills, knowledge of the arts, community service, and leadership building.
The Leadership aspect has four parts:
- Express Yourself: realizing talents and strengths and using and enjoying them, knowing what talents and strengths students would like to develop, and building them.
- Body Image: redefining beauty as a quality of self-love, care, and being a good friend.
- Dreaming Big: setting goals for the future based on what students love.
- Conflict Resolution: learning how to speak up and manage conflict in powerful ways
Learn More about the Cultural Council’s Arts Education Program
Mariposa’s Art is one component of the Cultural Council’s Arts Education program, which also includes SPECTRA Matching Grants, Special Initiatives and the Teaching Artist Directory. Through arts education the Cultural Council assists schools and the community in improving the quality of life by connecting them with opportunities throughout Santa Cruz County. Click here to learn more.
