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Glendora Unified unveils five-year VAPA plan, says Prop 28 funding will expand arts offerings
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Summary
District leaders presented a five-year Visual and Performing Arts strategic plan that aims to expand access, diversify offerings and secure funding, and outlined how voter-approved Prop 28 dollars can support new programs but cannot replace existing services.
The Glendora Unified School District on March 23 presented a five-year strategic plan for its Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) program, outlining steps to expand access, diversify student experiences and secure sustainable funding. The plan, presented by VAPA coordinator Ria Kubota and GHS visual arts teacher Chris Bergen, lists four strategic directions: aligned and expanded delivery, diversified experiences and events, sustained growth through visibility, and secure funding.
"Arts are essential," Kubota told the Board of Trustees, stressing the role arts play in academic achievement, attendance and student belonging. She said the district currently offers 50 different arts classes taught by 23 fully credentialed teachers and supported by seven classified staff, and is building career-technical education pathways in graphic design, photography and architectural design.
Chris Bergen, a member of the VAPA strategic planning team, described the plan as the product of a year-long process involving teachers, administrators, parents and students. "The plan focuses on four strategic directions over the next five years," Bergen said. He and Kubota identified program additions already implemented this year, including visual-arts instruction at every elementary school for kindergarten through third grade, additional middle-school orchestra and choir sections, a mariachi class at the high school, and new offerings targeted to students in special education.
Kubota said the passage of Proposition 28 (arts and music funding) is "transformational" for the district but cautioned that the initiative restricts spending to new staffing, supplies and materials rather than items already funded. "Prop 28 funding can only be used for new staffing and new supplies and new materials," she said, and the district is planning how to use those funds while ensuring equitable access across sites.
Board members and staff discussed articulated CTE pathways and possibilities for dual-enrollment credit through Citrus College. District staff said three articulated pathways currently exist (graphic design, photography and architectural/AutoCAD) and that expanding college-credit opportunities depends on meeting instructor qualification requirements and formal articulation agreements.
The board was told the VAPA five-year plan would appear on the consent calendar for board approval; Kubota said that with a board-approved VAPA plan, the district becomes eligible for additional funding avenues tied to the plan.
The presentation included student testimony about the personal value of arts coursework; no formal action was taken on the plan at the March 23 meeting, but the board supported moving the plan forward through the consent process.
