Some of you may be aware that I spent part of last week in our nation's capital attending the annual Arts Schools Network (ASN) conference.  This conference brings together school leaders and faculty from arts schools-elementary through college conservatory--across the United States and Canada to share best practices, discuss opportunities, and to revitalize existing relationships and build new ones.  Dr. Dan Castro, LACHSA's music chair, and Gina Buntz, our dance chair also attended as LACHSA was once again a presence at this very unique and important annual event. 

My experience, as the newest elected member of the board of directors, could not have been more fulfilling.  I was able to renew and cultivate my existing relationships with school leaders from our nations most prestigious arts high schools including Duke Elligton, Baltimore School for the Arts, Interlochen in Michigan, Houston School for Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA), Idyllwild, and Orange County High School for the Arts among countless others.  I can say with confidence that LACHSA is considered among the finest arts high schools in the country.  In fact, I learned that LACHSA itself served as the impetus for the creation of the Arts Schools Network decades ago.

In the early 1980s, as the idea of LACHSA was being birthed, its architects convened a gathering of school leaders from existing arts high schools at the time, from HSPVA, Duke Ellington, La Guardia, and others to learn from those institutions how best to design LACHSA.  The convened participants enjoyed the experience so much that they decided to replicate it each year thereafter; the Arts Schools Network was born.  Although LACHSA's membership and participation has been somewhat inconsistent since then this year we were fully embraced and our partnership with this very important organization has been renewed.

Of course, my primary mission is always to identify opportunity and possibility for our students; this week did not disappoint.  I had very meaningful and productive conversations with college, conservatory, and university officials trying to find new and additional ways to connect our students to admissions and scholarship opportunities.  Dr. Castro and Ms. Buntz were also able to connect with their vast network of contacts from across the country to do the very same.  Collectively we met with the Boston Conservatory, Columbia College, Museum School of Fine Arts, arranged an upcoming LACHSA visit from Berklee College of Music and the Savannah College of Art and Design, among others. I discovered that LACHSA is CalArts most important feeder and its president, Stephen Lavine acknowledged that there is much more LACHSA and Cal Arts can and should be doing together.  These are just some of the examples of how LACHSA is trying to connect to institutions for the benefit of our students.

Ms. Buntz was continuing conversations that will bring the American High School Dance Festival to LACHSA in 2011; this is the nation's largest gathering of high school dance students and conservatory admissions officials armed with significant scholarship money.  We are to be first institution on the West coast to host this prestigious event.

The next Arts Schools Network conference will be right here in Southern California-Anaheim--and will be jointly sponsored by LACHSA, OCHSA, Idyllwild, and San Diego's High School for Creative and Performing Arts.  LACHSA will host tours, provide numerous opportunities for our students to perform and exhibit, and also allow our outstanding faculty-arts and academics-to present and share our expertise and talents with our friends from across the country.

During this year alone, LACHSA has been a presence at important arts events coast to coast.  It is important for our students and faculty to engage and realize our potential as a dynamic and influential arts institution.