Educators | CreativeSonoma.org

Alexander Valley Film Society Organization

Through the transformative power of film, the Alexander Valley Film Society (AVFS) brings global perspectives into our community, builds partnerships to broaden our impact, and educates, empowers, and engages students of all ages.

The Alexander Valley Film Society’s Full Circle Cinema program offers media literacy and video production skills training for schools. With this program, teachers can integrate media arts education into core classes to leverage existing curricula or take advantage of standalone classes designed to enhance class projects.

MEDIA LITERACY & FILM INTEGRATION

Bring a teaching artist into your classroom to screen and discuss a film that relates to your subject area.

VIDEO PRODUCTION SKILLS TRAINING

Give your students a leg up on their video projects with editing tutorials, screenwriting basics, and story idea generation.

FILMMAKING
BOOTCAMP

From brainstorming to the final edit, these classes help students create their own videos as part of class projects or just for fun.

Artstart Organization Artstart provides job training in the arts for Sonoma County youth while creating public art. We offer art apprenticeship programs in which young artists ages 14 to 21 are guided by professional artists to work on commissioned projects including (but not limited to) murals (temporary and permanent), signage, mosaics, park benches and garden and interior furniture, garden stepping stones, neighborhood little trading posts (lending libraries), creatively painted dog houses, sculpture, tiled/mosaic backsplashes and tabletops. We also specialize in mosaic memorials.

Big Idea Arts And Education Consulting Organization Big Idea Consulting provides technical expertise to design and implement all phases of an arts education strategic plan. Following highly successful models used throughout the nation, we provide real-world experience in meeting the challenges of ensuring high quality arts education for all students in today's fiscal environment. From curriculum design, assessment and professional development to strategic planning and fund development, we work collaboratively to find solutions that accelerate learning in and through the arts. Whether your district is bringing back the arts or striving to improve current arts programs, Big Idea has a solid record of success in a wide variety of education landscapes. The arts are a difference-maker for today's students as they approach college and career in the 21st Century. Big Idea helps you to help them.

Bridget Palmer Individual Bridget Palmer has directed theater projects with youths ages 4 -14 for over 20 years through her programs Santa Rosa Children’s Theater, Show Biz Kidz, A Theater For Children, and her role as a Drama Specialist in Sonoma County schools. She also works for the Luther Burbank Center as a Teaching Artist. Ms. Palmer enjoys “play”ing with hundreds of children each year and loves the excitement of performance projects which culminate within 6-10 sessions. Ms. Palmer pursued advanced studies in Theater Directing at UC Berkeley and completed the LBC’s Kennedy Center Teaching Artist professional training, as well as several other Arts Integration professional development trainings related to Drama, Movement, and Storytelling. Ms. Palmer helps children become high performers through acting-based activities. Ms. Palmer also loves playwrighting and comedy improv. She founded and ran the 6th Street Improv adult troupe from 2008-2013 in Santa Rosa at the 6th Street Playhouse. In 2018, she wrote her first play for children: "Alex & The Magic Staff", with an anti-bullying theme. She is currently working on her second play for stage and a screenplay.

California Indian Museum And Cultural Center Organization

The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center was founded in 1996 with the purpose of educating the public about the history, culture, and contemporary life of California Indians and to honor their contributions to civilization. The Museum provides California Indians and the public with a first class museum facility in which to portray California Indian history and culture from an Indian perspective. In addition, the museum showcases and encourages the present-day renaissance of California Indian culture, affirming its survival and continued vitality in the face of extreme adversity. Finally, the museum provides opportunities for Native Americans to receive training and experience in a variety of fields such as museum direction, curation, design, and interpretation.

California Poets In The Schools Organization

California Poets in the Schools’ vision is to enable youth in every California county to discover, cultivate and amplify their own creative voices through reading, analyzing, writing, performing and publishing...POETRY!! When students learn to express their creativity, imagination, and intellectual curiosity through poetry, it becomes a catalyst for learning core academic subjects, accelerating emotional development and supporting personal growth. Our Poet-Teachers help students become adults who will bring compassion, understanding, and appreciation for diverse perspectives to the issues which their communities face.

California Poets in the Schools develops and empowers a multicultural network of independent Poet-Teachers, who bring the many benefits of poetry to youth throughout the State. As a membership network, we offer opportunities for professional development, peer learning and fundraising assistance for Poet-Teachers in California. We also cultivate relationships with school districts, foundations, and arts organizations which can fund and support our members’ professional practices.

Charles M. Schulz Museum Organization Each year, the Schulz Museum provides hands-on art, cartooning, animation, and science programs to children in Sonoma County and beyond. The Museum reaches children with interactive day-long and week-long camps and classes, as well as field trips, classroom programs, and our school-wide “Peanuts Naturally” festival for local schools. The Charles M. Schulz Museum’s youth programs are tailored to student needs and include free days for families with children with sensory needs, Museum tours with sign language interpretation, and a special tactile tour for low-vision and blind visitors. It is the intention of the Schulz Museum to provide experiences that make every child feel just as special as the rest of the Peanuts Gang, and that means being accessible and inclusive to people of all abilities, backgrounds, and income levels. Thirty- three percent of the children reached by the Schulz Museum live in underserved, low-income communities and seventy-five percent live in Sonoma County. The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center’s youth education program is committed to offering free and affordable programs and scholarships to low income schools and students.

Ernesto M. Garay Individual Ernesto M. Garay is an award-winning poet. He holds two master’s degrees: one in Comparative Literature and a second one in Ethnic Studies. As an Ethnic Studies Instructor, Ernesto teaches ethnic studies at the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College. Mr. Garay has also taught culture responsive poetry to children, teens and adults living with intersectional vulnerability in schools and service organizations all over Sonoma County. Most recently, his book of poetry: Reverberating Voices got accepted for publication by Flower Song Press. Traversing the borders of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, and California, it speaks about the experience of immigration, racism, healing the spirit, displacement, and love during the Central American Civil Wars of the 1970s and 1980s. He is passionate about social justice and advocating for the Latino immigrant community. Immensely creative and accomplished, he inspires us and moves among us with unfailing humility, generosity, and grace.

Gena Richman And Lisa Damico Individual Lisa Damico and Gena Richman share a passion for integrated arts and professional development. Having taught public school elementary students for a collective 50 plus years, (yes, we began when we were 10!) we continue our journey of dedication and passion for teaching and learning. For years, Lisa worked with the CA Literature Project, leading workshops for elementary teachers throughout the state to understand and implement the ELA framework. Lisa was also a District Mentor teacher. Gena presented at Asilomar Math Conference giving sessions on Integrating the Visual Arts with Mathematics (grades 3-6) as well as coordinating the annual Mary Collins Symposium, a 3 day PD highlighting two featured presenters (one in mathematics, one in ELA) sharing their important educational research for parents, teachers and other educators in the community to discuss “big ideas” in teaching and learning and leveraging theory into practice. Lisa and Gena continue their focus of integrating the arts into public schools. Reaching all students means opening windows to different ways of knowing and that transmediation, in the context of teaching and learning, is essential for understanding. We are still (even though retired) committed to integrating the arts into the classroom curriculum.

Green Music Center At Sonoma State University Organization

The Green Music Center is the performing arts presenter at Sonoma State University, a regionally public serving university committed to educational access and excellence. Our mission is to present the most compelling artists of our time, to investigate ideas, and to provide access to diverse artistic experiences that educate, connect, and inspire Sonoma State University and neighboring North Bay communities.

International touring artists participate in activities such as pre- and post-performance discussions, visits to K-12 schools and community organizations, and workshops with community members at the Green Music Center. Activities are designed to develop creative capacities, critical thinking skills, and encourage participants to investigate communal and personal values while building empathy for the experiences of others. Additionally, we partner with schools and youth organizations to offer complimentary tickets to students in surrounding communities for select concerts.

Healdsburg Center For The Arts Organization Each of the Healdsburg Center for the Arts' instructors are working artists who have multiple years of teaching youth art. Most work in local private and public schools.

Healdsburg Jazz Organization

Mission Statement: Healdsburg Jazz stimulates interest in and promotes awareness and appreciation of jazz by facilitating cross-cultural interaction, providing performance opportunities, and educating young people and adults about the important role of jazz as an indigenous American art form.

About Healdsburg Jazz

The Healdsburg Jazz Festival, a celebration of the indigenous American art form known as Jazz, has become a favorite local tradition with a growing national reputation. This festival of performances by world-renowned musicians in diverse beautiful Sonoma County settings has grown over the past two decades into one of the North Bay’s most celebrated annual musical events.

In addition to the annual Festival, Healdsburg Jazz sponsors numerous in-person free music education programs in Healdsburg and Geyserville area schools for primary and secondary school students, as well as for adults.

About Healdsburg Jazz Educational Programs

Since the organization’s founding 23 years ago, education has been at its core. With music education eliminated from public schools, Healdsburg Jazz continues to meet this need. We know music and academic performance go hand in hand. Each year we typically reach thousands of students. Over half the population in our area schools qualify for free school lunch and/or are considered low moderate income.

In 2019 Healdsburg Jazz hosted or co-hosted 120 jazz performances and music-related events, 75% of them completely free of charge; and it served about 2,000 children in our community. A real tour de force of #Jazz #Education and #Community. In 2020 the organization adapted to the limitations of the pandemic, with 85% of the events completely free, and around 4,000 attendees in our virtual events throughout the year.

As we head into 2021, we will continue to offer virtual programming and we are planning for live educational opportunities too. We plan to reach thousands of students through our programs.

Janet Greene Individual Janet Greene received her MA in Early Childhood Curriculum from Sonoma State University. She has a Level 3 Orff Certification and received Fulbright and Austrian Government Grants to attend the one year Special Course at the Orff Institute for Music and Dance in Salzburg, Austria. Janet is in her 15th year as the TK-3rd grade Orff Music, Movement and Integration Specialist at Oak Grove Elementary School in Graton, California. She is also a teaching artist for the Luther Burbank Center (LBC) which provides school residencies integrating arts into the curriculum. Her course Introduction to Orff and Classroom Applications is offered through the San Francisco International Orff Course. She has given workshops and trainings for early childhood, music and national Orff conferences. Janet has been a mentor teacher for Young Audiences, the Santa Rosa Symphony’s El Sistema program and the San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score project for classroom teachers. She has received numerous grants from schools and districts to integrate music and movement into the TK-4 Language Arts, ESL, Math and Science curriculum. Her international courses for children and teachers have taken her to Bali, Bhutan, Thailand and South Africa. Janet enjoys dancing and playing the harpsichord, accordion and percussion.

Luther Burbank Center For The Arts Organization Founded in 1981, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts is the North Bay’s premier arts and events center presenting world-class performances, nationally-recognized education programs, contemporary visual art, and many popular community events. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the Center is ranked among world’s top 100 performing arts presenters hosting performances in music, theater, dance, comedy, family programming, and renowned speaker events; and serving more than 50,000 children and adults annually through its Education Through the Arts programs. Through the help of generous community funders, all of LBC's programs are offered at no or low cost to participants. Offering 20+ community programs to serve educators, students, and the general public, the Education Through the Arts programs at LBC use the transformative power of the arts as a catalyst to foster access in and awareness of arts education in our community. Offerings include, but are not limited to:

School Shows
Arts-Integrated Residencies
Professional Development for Teachers
Summer Camps
Instrument Lending Library
and much more

Museum Of Sonoma County Organization The mission of the Museum of Sonoma County is to engage and inspire our diverse community with art and history exhibitions, collections, and public programs that are inclusive, educational, and relevant. Established in 1985, the Museum of Sonoma County (Sonoma County Museum) presents 12-15 rotating art and history exhibitions per year. Located in Downtown Santa Rosa, the Museum welcomes over 15,000 visitors per year through general admission, tours, school programs, public programs, and special events. The Museum also maintains a permanent collection of over 18,000 objects that document the region's rich history and celebrate local artists.

Music To My Ears Organization Music to My Ears is a family owned & operated, local music education center offering private lessons, group programs, musical theater productions & band instrument rentals. Centrally located in Sonoma County, we strive to provide fun and enriching musical experiences for children and adults. We offer lessons in voice, piano, drums, guitar, various woodwind instruments (such as flute, clarinet, & saxophone), various brass instruments (such as trumpet, flugelhorn, & trombone), and various stringed instruments (such as violin, viola, & cello). Some of our group programs include musical theatre, different workshops and ensemble classes. We've done shows like Les Misérables and Mary Poppins. Our current ensemble class is called the Sonoma Jazz Girls, featuring an all girls jazz band.

Onye Onyemaechi Individual Onye Onyemaechi has more than 30 years experience in education entertainment for schools, libraries, universities and museums. His goal is to bring the joy and soul of African music, culture and wisdom, teachings, important learning concepts, and celebration of diversity to pupils worldwide. He is a celebrated recording artist and performer who brings an invigorating powerful experience to hundreds of audiences across USA and Europe. A world-renowned master percussionist, performer and inspirational speaker, Onye is author of The Drum: Voice of the Village, and band leader and manager of Onye and the Messengers, an AfroBeat World Music Band. He has been a member of the Massachusetts Performing Arts Student Series, Young Audiences of San Jose, Arts Council Santa Cruz County,Young Imagination, ArtsBank Education programs, and is currently on the League of Volunteers-Arts In Schools roster and LBC Artist In the Schools Teaching Artist. Onye’s programs for children have earned him a McDonald’s Foundation Recognition Award and he has been featured on NBC and the Wisdom Channel.

Petaluma Arts Center Organization Petaluma Arts Center is dedicated to building our community’s creative capacity by making art an increasingly vital and meaningful part of our public life.

Petaluma Arts Center offers art programs, classes, and workshops in Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS.) Visual Thinking Strategies guides participants through an energizing, empowering discussion designed to make art accessible, enjoyable, and thought-provoking for all ages; they lead student participants on a path that helps build lifelong skills.

The Center also offers school tours and summer enrichment day camps.