March 2023
News, updates and perspectives on the
future of education from Learn4Life
Art Programs Can Help Keep Students Engaged in High School
High schools everywhere are searching for all the students who didn’t return after the pandemic. And for those who have come back, keeping them engaged and on a path to graduation is paramount. We offer robust art programs to get kids excited about school. For some, it opens their eyes to a possible career in the arts.

“One of my favorite things about teaching art is seeing students come in with no confidence whatsoever, and then a light comes on and they start to push themselves,” said Tara Holeman, art teacher at Learn4Life in Fresno. “And that confidence spills over into academics and it becomes the reason they come to school…it gets them in the door.”

Like student Sandra S., who was very shy and quiet when she first transferred here and she didn’t regularly come in to meet with her teachers. Since we offer a flexible schedule, our staff keeps close tabs on each student to make sure they’re completing assignments and coming in regularly to meet with teachers and tutors. 
Student-painted Mural Comes Alive for Youth Art Month 
In celebration of Youth Art Month, Ventura County art students Yazmeen A. and Brianna P. designed and painted an 8x12-foot indoor mural for Shelter Care Resources’ new Housing Assistance and Technology Center for the Homeless (HATCH) center on A street in downtown Oxnard.

The students wanted the mural to represent the technology divide that can keep families from obtaining secure housing and to support children’s access to technology for education. It took the students close to a month to complete and is a welcome addition to the children’s play area at the center. Many Vista Real students and their families have benefited from the agency’s material support during times of crisis.  
Photography Class Put Araya on a Career Path to Architecture 
When Araya S. found out she needed to earn a fine arts credit for graduation, she thought, “Oh no. What am I going to do? I don’t know anything about art.”
 
Fortunately, most of our schools have robust arts programs with classes in everything from painting and pottery to computer design and glass blowing. Her art teacher helped her find something that interested her, which was digital photography. “I love being around a camera and I spent all last summer going around taking pictures,” said Araya. “It brings a big smile to my face.”
 
The photography led to an interest in architecture and eventually a graphic design class where she is now learning to design buildings on the computer. “I like the aesthetics of various buildings and giving them a look to make them my own,” she explained. “Architecture and art are a way of expressing myself. It helps with my nerves.”