State arts program asks Riverside County Youth Commission to help recruit students

A representative for the California State Summer School for the Arts (CISA) used public comment time at the Jan. 22 Riverside County Youth Commission meeting to ask commissioners to help promote the program to local students.

David Barton, who identified himself as representing the CISA Foundation, described the program as a four-week summer intensive that this year will take place at Cal Poly Pomona and enrolls about 450 high-school students across eight disciplines including dance, music, film, animation, theater, writing and visual arts. He said roughly half of attendees historically receive full-tuition scholarships and that students earn college credit and California Arts Scholar recognition for participation. “I invite the members of this body to participate in helping to get that word out,” Barton said, and offered printed outreach materials after the meeting.

Barton said the program accepts students in grades 8–12 and that the application window closes in February. He described targeted outreach as the primary strategy to increase Riverside County representation in the applicant pool and said he had already been visiting local high schools to distribute materials.

Commissioners thanked Barton and several said they would help share the opportunity with their districts. The commission took no formal action on the request but accepted Barton’s offer to remain after the meeting to answer questions and distribute materials.