OUR VISION
A community that ensures a rich education in and through the arts for every K-12 student.
We commit to an arts-literate culture in every school with rich, diverse arts learning experiences for every child, every day, in every community. We value opportunities for all children to create, to communicate, to think critically, to collaborate, and to learn to think in new ways. In our vision, arts education starts early and lasts a lifetime.
WHAT WE DO
The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) works to achieve this vision through two equity-based arts education efforts:
The Right Brain Initiative is a public-private partnership that exists to transform learning through creativity in all K-8 classrooms in the region. Founded in 2008, Right Brain was designed by the community in response to current needs of our students and schools. It focuses on training classroom teachers to integrate the arts with other subjects (“arts integration”) through intensive workshops, residencies with professional teaching artists, and on-site coaching. With arts integration, schools learn to independently make creativity the foundation for all learning in the classroom. Right Brain has grown to serve nearly 30,000 students and their teachers in 70 schools across eight school districts (see map below) in three counties in the Portland region in the 2018-19 school year. Read more about Right Brain here.
RACC also supports the music and arts teachers hired with the Arts Education & Access Fund (Arts Tax) to serve K-5 schools in the City of Portland (see map below). Today, every K-5 school in Portland has at least one art, music or dance teacher—92 certified arts specialists in all, compared to 31 in 2012. RACC supports Arts Tax funded schools by connecting them to cultural resources in Portland and offering professional development workshops for music and arts teachers hired through the Arts Tax. RACC also works with school districts to help ensure continued arts learning for students in middle and high school. Read more about the Arts Tax here.
WHO WE SERVE
Check out the map below to see which schools are currently being served by RACC Arts Education.
Map Icon Key
| school building icon |  |
schools served by The Right Brain Initiative (Right Brain) |
| running students icon |  |
schools served by Arts Education & Access Fund (AEAF or Art Tax) |
| graduation cap icon |  |
schools served by both Right Brain and AEAF |
Map Color Key
| light blue |  |
Centennial School District |
| light purple |  |
Corbett School District |
| dark green |  |
David Douglas School District |
| orange |  |
Gresham-Barlow School District |
| teal |  |
Hillsboro School District |
| light green |  |
North Clackamas School District |
| yellow |  |
Oregon Department of Education sponsored |
| brown |  |
Oregon Trail School District |
| maroon |  |
Parkrose School District |
| salmon |  |
Portland Public Schools |
| dark blue |  |
Reynolds School District |
| dark purple |  |
Riverdale School District |
PORTLAND ARTS TAX TEACHERS & STUDENTS IN ACTION
Watch the video below to get a sneak peek of a Centennial School District kindergarten music class.
Posted November 9, 2018
How Kathleen Lane is working with youth to understand anxiety as a universal human experience by Lokyee Au, Communications Manager It’s estimated that we create anywhere between 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts a day. These tens of thousands of thoughts running through our head every day have the ability to reinforce, dictate, or alter our actions, […]
Posted May 10, 2018
PORTLAND, ORE — National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $80 million in grants in its second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2018. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $45,000 to The Right Brain Initiative, the Regional Arts & Culture Council’s (RACC) arts integration program. […]
Posted November 13, 2017
The Right Brain Initiative is one month into the 2017 Willamette Week Give!Guide, Portland’s innovative online fundraising campaign. Give!Guide showcases 149 local non-profits of various sizes whose missions fall into eight categories: Animals, Civil & Human Rights, Community, Creative Expression (you can find Right Brain here), Education, Environment, Health and Human Services. Give!Guide In thirteen […]
Posted September 7, 2017
A unique new event showcases garments created from uncommon materials to help raise money for The Right Brain Initiative PORTLAND, ORE — On September 21, 2017, the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) and Arlene Schnitzer present SHIFT: An experiment in fashion design at 6:00 p.m. at the Leftbank Annex. This first annual runway show […]
Posted August 30, 2017
by Maya McFaddin, RACC Arts Education Community Engagement Associate It seems that each day we are facing new and more difficult challenges than the day before. At times, it is tough to maintain our hope and strength, let alone any sense of normalcy in our families, jobs, and daily routines amidst the overwhelming political and […]
Posted August 30, 2017
By Deb Vaughn, Education Coordinator, Oregon Arts Commission In a 2016 article in The Denver Post, Kurt MacDonald compares the desire to produce competitive 21st century workers to the intent of dog breeders working to produce ideal canines. “Both sought to achieve their ends by refining and concentrating valuable attributes into purebreds (dogs) and national […]
Posted June 14, 2017
PORTLAND, ORE — National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $82 million to fund local arts projects across the country in the NEA’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017. Included in this announcement is an Art Works award of $30,000 to The Right Brain Initiative, the arts integration […]
Posted October 27, 2016
Phi Beta Kappa has named Portland a City of Distinction, recognizing the exceptional artistic vitality, cultural vibrancy and scientific engagement of our community. “To have a city be recognized not for any political reason, but for the depth of its cultural life, is a very significant thing,” said Frederick M. Lawrence, CEO of Phi Beta […]
Posted October 25, 2016
Each winter, Willamette Week produces Give!Guide, an online campaign that encourages and facilitates year-end giving for nearly 150 local nonprofit causes. Over the last 10 years, Give!Guide has raised nearly $10 million for hundreds of nonprofits in the Portland metro area. RACC is thrilled to be teaming up with the Oregon Cultural Trust to co-sponsor […]
Posted September 12, 2016
PORTLAND, ORE —The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) joins colleagues across the country to celebrate National Arts in Education Week, September 11-17, 2016. Throughout the week, RACC and The Right Brain Initiative will share stories on social media about how arts education has impacted our community, including perspectives from staff, as well as the […]
Posted September 6, 2016
Issued by Americans for the Arts on September 6, 2016. As a reminder, please join us in celebrating National Arts In Education Week from September 11-17, 2016. Take two minutes to issue a Letter to the Editor to your local papers and tell them why the arts matter in education! Designated by Congress in 2010, House Resolution 275 names the […]
Posted August 30, 2016
This time of year the sun is setting before 8:00 p.m., a new season of your favorite television series premieres, and wide-ruled notebooks are selling for 70 cents each. It is September and a new school year is officially upon us. At the Regional Arts & Culture Council, The Right Brain Initiative is back in […]
Posted June 27, 2016
The Right Brain Initiative and Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington have teamed up to provide one application process for artists who work with schools. Complete the Intent to Apply Form to be eligible to submit a full application to either or both organizations. The Intent to Apply Form is open until July 15, 2016. Application is open until July […]
Posted May 10, 2016
The Right Brain Initiative has received a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to deliver systemic and equitable arts programming to local K-8 schools. Right Brain, a program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council, works in partnership with local school districts to transform learning through robust arts programming that integrates with […]
Posted April 4, 2016
Find stories about the impact of the tax online in April at #pdxlovesart PORTLAND, ORE —In November 2012, 63% of Portland voters overwhelmingly passed Ballot Measure 26-146 to create the Arts Education & Access Fund, now known as the “arts tax.” The tax directly funds 72 K-5, music, dance and visual art teachers in the […]
Posted February 18, 2016
Have you heard the term teaching artist and wondered what that meant and what qualifies someone to take on that role? This workshop will cover the fundamentals of this position in the world of education. Participants will engage in the creative process, much like students in an assortment of learning environments. Walk away with an […]
Posted December 31, 2015
Eloise’s Blog: I love it that we can collectively celebrate the close of 2015 with two milestones in arts education for the USA. Our Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici was key to the first big win in early November with the unanimous passage of her amendment to integrate the arts into “STEM” education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) […]
Posted November 18, 2015
PORTLAND, ORE — Two programs of the Regional Arts & Culture Council – The Right Brain Initiative and Work for Art – have published summaries of their accomplishments and finances for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2015. The Right Brain Initiative’s 2015 Progress Report illustrates RACC’s unique approach to supporting K-8 educators in the […]
Posted November 4, 2015
PORTLAND, ORE —The Right Brain Initiative’s Outreach Specialist Rebecca Burrell has received a Skidmore Prize, an award delivered annually by the Willamette Week to four outstanding non-profit leaders under the age of 36. This award is presented in conjunction with Willamette Week’s Give!Guide, a year-end fundraising campaign for Portland area organizations, which launched today and […]
Posted October 21, 2015
PORTLAND, ORE —The Right Brain Initiative was honored on Tuesday night by the Portland Monthly magazine’s prestigious Light a Fire awards, an annual recognition for some of the best non-profits in the city. Right Brain received the Game-Changing Project award, which celebrates a unique collaboration that drives community transformation. Designed by a cross-section of Portlanders in […]