Photograph courtesy of The Sacramento Bee Florence Low

Prior to establishing the California Consultancy for Arts Education, Inc. (CCAE), a non-profit corporation, KD Kurutz and Jill Pease served for four years as co-directors of the California Consortium for Arts Education, housed at the Sacramento County Office of Education, where they administered Transforming Education Through the Arts Challenge (TETAC) in six partner schools and through four Institutes throughout California. This ambitious initiative in arts education and school reform – funded in part by the Getty Trust and the Annenberg Foundation – involved a national consortium of six centers and 35 schools from California, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas and Tennessee. They also facilitated an evaluation program conducted by the Maryland-based educational research firm, Westat. Both Westat and the National Arts Education Consortium published reports on TETAC outcomes in 2002.

In 2000, Kurutz and Pease co-founded CCAE, Inc. to build on the program success of TETAC and to apply the lessons learned to California schools. In July 2001, they were invited to open their offices on the campus of California State University, Sacramento. Since that time, they have extended their training and resources through extensive outreach efforts and generous partnerships to thousands of California’s Pre-K through 12^th grade teachers and students.

Co-Director KD Kurutz holds an MS in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and comes to her position with nearly 30 years of arts education and administration experience. She began her career as a teacher, and then worked as an art gallery director, and curator. From 1980 to 1997, she served as Curator of Education for the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento where she established model educational programs for all audience levels, particularly through museum-community collaborations. Kurutz has served as an advisor and consultant for several arts organizations and programs including the CSUS School of the Arts, California Arts Council, Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, California Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Arts. She has written and lectured widely on museums, art education, programming for audiences with disabilities, and California art in cultural context. She is co-author of the award-winning volume California Calls You: The Art of Promoting the Golden State, 1870-1940. She was also a contributing author for Artworks for Elementary Teachers, Ninth Edition. The California Art Education Association presented her with their Award of Merit in 2002.

Co-Director Jill Pease holds an MA in Art History from the University of California, Davis and has worked in art and education for over 20 years, including several years in K-12 classrooms. Prior to her role as CCAE Co-Director, she served for four years as an Art Consultant for the Sacramento County Office of Education. Pease has written articles for School Arts and Arts & Activities magazines. Her expertise is in the area of arts education curriculum. Since 1990, she has served as the Bella Vista High School (in Sacramento) Visual Arts Coach for the Academic Decathlon. In addition, she was a contributing author for Artworks for Elementary Teachers, Ninth Edition. The California Art Education Association presented her with their Award of Merit in 2005.

Kurutz and Pease also work with a cadre of talented teachers who have incorporated the CCAE approach in their own classrooms. These teachers work with the co-directors in CCAE programs as presenters, facilitators, reviewers and lesson plan writers.