San Diego Unified School District’s Visual and Performing Arts program (VAPA), in partnership with UC Irvine, researched the impact of theatre and dance lessons on early childhood education. Preliminary results suggest that integrating the arts into the Common Core standards may be one of the keys to acquiring English language proficiency in grades K-2. Professional Teaching Artists work with classroom teachers to develop lesson plans which encourage critical thinking and promote life skills. Series: "STEAM plus MORE" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Education] [Show ID: 25436]