Pauline Crooks (center) with San Diego County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Gloria E. Ciriza (left), and Tim A. Hire, President of California County Superintendents (right).
San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator Pauline Crooks recently received the inaugural Arts Initiative Arts Lead of the Year Award from the California County Superintendents. The award celebrates an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, dedication, and impact in advancing education in dance, media arts, music, theatre, and media arts across California.
Crooks serves the California Counties Superintendents Arts Initiative as arts lead for San Diego, Imperial, and Orange counties. The initiative works to ensure that every student from every geographic region and at every socioeconomic level in the state receives in-depth arts learning as part of the core curriculum.
“Pauline’s leadership in San Diego County, her deep commitment to students and educators, and her statewide contributions to arts education made her an outstanding choice for this inaugural award,” said Dr. Gloria E. Ciriza, San Diego County superintendent of schools. “She has truly been a guiding force behind advancing equitable practices and removing barriers to learning for all young people.”
A national board-certified music teacher with more than 30 years in education, Crooks has helped implement transformational changes in the way children across the state learn, develop their sense of self and connection to others, and find belonging in their schools and communities. She has also been a leader in building belonging and equity into arts education.
With a focus on culturally and linguistically responsive strategies, Crooks partners with coordinators in other curriculum areas to help teachers create integrated experiences for students. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped develop cross-disciplinary units to help students engage in all of the arts disciplines while simultaneously developing other curricular understanding.
Crooks brings empathy and compassion to interactions with peers, as well as students.
“Pauline is the kind of person who you don’t understand how her heart fits in her body,” said Audrey Mendivil, district advisor for curriculum and instruction. “She has been a leader in fostering a sense of belonging and creating inclusive spaces, which directly supports our organization’s North Star goal.”
In addition to her work with arts educators locally and statewide, Crooks led the creation of professional learning connecting universal design for learning (UDL) and the Arts Education framework. UDL recognizes the many strengths and learning styles students bring to the classroom and expands access to learning for all by offering multiple ways to educators to help students connect with the why, how, and what of learning.
Crooks’ arts lead peers nominated her for the award in recognition of her leadership and service. Students from Colusa County schools made the ceramic award with the support of Bob Kirkman, Colusa County arts lead and Crooks’ colleague. She received the personalized award at the general membership meeting of the state’s 58 county superintendents of education.