Making Music in Culver City Schools

The Culver City Unified School District prides itself on being an “Arts for All” district – every student in every grade has access to arts education opportunities. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the district’s robust TK-12^th grade music programs. Culver City schools have been awarded the “Best Communities for Music Education” national recognition for the past 5 years in a row.

Learning through the arts can lead students on the path to a successful future, in the creative industry or elsewhere. Decades of research has shown that children and teens who study music perform better in school. They achieve higher academic grades, have improved literacy, and are 24% more likely to graduate from high school. Participation in music is one of the few activities that activates both sides of the brain, stimulating cognitive development. It’s also shown to build confidence, empathy, teamwork, self-discipline, and creative skills.

Starting last school year, every elementary student in TK through fifth-grade has 30 minutes of music education every week, with four dedicated general music/vocal teachers working to make it happen. All third graders are now gaining musical literacy through learning recorders during the weekly sessions in their classrooms.  

CCEF also helped facilitate an exciting new musical program – learning to play ukuleles! Donations secured by the Culver City Education Foundation from the Culver City Rotary Community Foundation and Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy Foundation helped fund the purchase of the ukuleles. Now every 4^th and 5^th grader expands their creativity and musical skills while joyfully creating music with ukuleles each week.

The programs continue at the middle and high schools, with band & orchestra classes, the Centaur marching band, and Culver High’s Academy of Visual and Performing Arts (AVPA). Last year 662 CCUSD students were enrolled in instrumental music classes from 4th through 12th grades, a 25% increase from a decade ago.

The expansion of CCUSD’s music programs by hiring additional music teachers is the direct result of Californians voting overwhelmingly in favor of Prop 28, an initiative on the 2022 ballot to provide additional state funding for arts education in public schools. Prop 28 funds must be used to add to already existing arts education programming.

Donations to the Culver City Education Foundation help sustain access to music education for all our students. Whether it’s their first experience playing a recorder in third grade or performing with the talented high school jazz combo at an event around town, these opportunities that inspire our students are not possible without community support. CCEF invites our Culver City neighbors to support its mission to raise vital funding for exceptional educational opportunities for every CCUSD student.  Learn more about how your gifts to CCEF inspire creativity by visiting www.ccef4schools.org.