On June 27, Cloverdale Arts Alliance board president, Nancy Harris Dalwin, presented the Cloverdale Unified School District Board of Directors with a check for $2,500.
The funds are from a grant recently awarded to CAA by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and will be used to expand Cloverdale’s elementary, middle and high school music programs.
“The Cloverdale Arts Alliance is honored to be working with the Cloverdale Unified School District on restoring and expanding high quality music programs in all three of our schools,” said Dalwin.
“This opportunity arose because of Superintendent Jeremy Decker’s commitment to the arts as critical to educational excellence.”
CAA and CUSD began working together last fall to raise the funds and solicit donated instruments to rebuild the music program. Under the direction of music teacher, Ken Collins, there are now 32 beginning band students in the fifth and sixth grades that meet at 7 a.m. each morning for small group lessons, segmented by instrument types. There are 19 students in the seventh/eighth grade band and 11 students in the high school band.
To back up the teaching, in addition to the Rauschenberg grant, CAA has raised $5,935 for the purchase and repair of instruments and has sourced more than two dozen donated instruments. Dalwin said the program continues to look for donated flutes, clarinets, trumpets and trombones. If you have an instrument you would like to donate, contact info@cloverdalearts
alliance.org.
Community members can also support the music programs by making monetary donations to the Cloverdale Arts Alliance/Cloverdale Schools Music Campaign. Mail checks to 204 N. Cloverdale Blvd. For online donations, visit cloverdaleartsalliance.org/cloverdale-schools-music-campaign/.
– Cloverdale Arts Alliance
