Ms. Laura Zucker

Why Longevity (in a Job!) is Good

Posted by Ms. Laura Zucker, Jun 14, 2017


Ms. Laura Zucker

Are people staying in their jobs for shorter periods of time? Not according to the Department of Labor Statistics reports, which say that tenures in jobs actually increased slightly during the past decade. But it is true that younger workers (25 to 44 years old) only have a median tenure of about 5 years, compared to older workers (46 and up), whose median tenure is 8 to 10 years. And although those employed in the public sector tend to stay longer than those in the private sector, I still seem to be a statistical outlier. I’ve stayed in my job for 25 years (wow, that’s a long time!). Here’s why you should think about staying in your job.

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Ms. Laura Zucker

When It’s the Right Time to Leave Your Job (for the Right Reason)

Posted by Ms. Laura Zucker, Jul 21, 2017


Ms. Laura Zucker

Sometimes, of course, you feel like walking away because of the old challenges: a change in the political tide, a recession, difficult people, the endless paperwork, scrambling to do more with less. But none of these are reasons to bail. When I know I haven’t shied away from an uncomfortable situation or unfamiliar territory, then I can choose something new with a clear conscience.

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Ms. Laura Zucker

The Good News about Arts Education in Los Angeles County

Posted by Ms. Laura Zucker, Feb 28, 2014


Ms. Laura Zucker

Recently the 2013 Otis Report on the Creative Economy for California and the Los Angeles Region was released. As in previous years, the presentation of the data generated anticipation and buzz in the arts community.  There is a lot of good news for the creative sector, including the fact that one out of every seven jobs is in the creative economy. The report emphasizes the critical role arts education plays in preparing students for these jobs, and we at the Los Angeles County Arts Commission are particularly interested in how we can make these opportunities a reality for all the 1.6 million students in our public schools.

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Ms. Laura Zucker

Lessons Learned: Arts for All Always Adapts

Posted by Ms. Laura Zucker, Aug 10, 2012


Ms. Laura Zucker

Laura Zucker

Arts for All staff can attest to the fact that the capacity to be adaptable, the knack to be nimble, is a key to continued success.

Following the 1978 passage of Proposition 13, arts education in Los Angeles County’s 81 school districts began to deteriorate to varying degrees. In the late 1990s a coalition of L.A. county arts leaders and advocates met to discuss problems, such as arts education, that could be addressed only by organizations working together. One result was Arts for All, formed as a public-private partnership in 2002 to empower school districts to build infrastructures for arts education and integrate arts into the core curriculum.

Now Arts for All is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a network of more than 100 partners including school districts, artists, arts and education organizations, corporations and foundations.

There is a shared belief in laying a strong foundation for arts education in the school districts and building their capacity to deliver arts education. The approach, which is now being adopted by others across the country, is to create a plan for the long term, collaboratively and systemically across Los Angeles County.

In the world of arts education, one size does not fit all. There is a tremendous variation in the level and quality of arts education within schools and districts across the county. The Arts for All   staff  has learned to customize programs to meet the needs at hand within distinct districts.

Sofia Klatzker, who directs grants programs for the LA County Arts Commission, is a ten-year veteran of Arts for All. She says that even though no two districts are alike, staff discovered that most district leaders believe that the arts are important to the core curriculum. “We do not have to sell the idea of arts ed per se,” says Klatzker. “We have to promote implementation.”

Throughout the decade, school district realities have shifted. For example, having a district-level arts coordinator seemed both imperative and realistic at one time. Now it is understood that someone within the district dedicated to coordinating the arts education plan implementation is important, but it can no longer be expected that the person is dedicated to the arts full-time. District level administrators now often wear many hats due to budgetary constraints.

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