Christian Tordahl is in his third year as La Mesa-Spring Valley’s VAPA coordinator, and he is fast reaching his goal of ensuring that every student from transitional kindergarten through fifth grade receives both visual art and music education throughout their elementary experience.
This totals to around 10,000 students across all school sites, says Tordahl, and it is directly thanks to the Proposition 28 fund.
Also known as the Arts and Music in Schools (AMS) Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act, the measure was approved by California voters in November 2022 to provide additional support for arts education in K–12 public schools beginning in the 2023–24 school year. For LMSV, that translates to approximately $1.7 million annually.
When the VAPA coordinator position opened three years ago, Tordahl said he immediately recognized the opportunity to build something meaningful. With a career in music education spanning three decades – teaching band, orchestra, and general music at both the elementary and secondary levels across four states – he brought both experience and a clear vision.
“I was a band kid from third grade,” he recalls. “I was very fortunate to have grown up in a suburban New York school district where we had music and art from kindergarten through eighth grade. It was something that really connected me to school.”
That early exposure shaped his career path and continues to guide his work today. “I decided to be a music teacher during college thanks to the music teachers who helped me get through school. I know how important art and music was for my own school journey and I wanted to make sure that every student has access to the arts.”
Tordahl has focused on introducing arts education at LMSV’s elementary level while also strengthening offerings in middle schools. He assembled a team of credentialed arts educators who are also experienced musicians and artists, for the ideal blend of technical expertise and passion.
By introducing general music classes early on, students now begin developing foundational skills that prepare them for more advanced opportunities, such as band, in middle school.
“When I taught fifth-grade band in Valley Center, kids would come in with no readiness in music, and they were dropping like flies,” Tordahl recalls. “They dropped music once they got to middle school because they weren’t successful at it due to us having no music classes from kindergarten through fourth grade.”
Now, with structured instruction in place across all LMSV elementary sites, more students are continuing in band as they progress through school.
All elementary levels currently have four music and visual art teachers who rotate through every classroom, delivering standards-based instruction from TK through fifth grade. Each class receives approximately a dozen visits per year.
Tordahl points to the broader impact of arts education on student development: “When I first began the role, a middle school art teacher shared that incoming seventh graders were experiencing formal art instruction for the first time and, as a result, they were having a really difficult time thinking outside of the box and being creative. Well, of course they were because they hadn’t had that opportunity.”
He believes that will change as younger students move through the system with sustained exposure to the arts. Creativity, he notes, is increasingly valuable far beyond the classroom.
“All the subjects are connected. We teach them separately in school because we have to. But what all arts subjects do is work the creative side of our brains, and that’s something that all of us need to succeed in life.”
Another important aspect of the program is accessibility. With the Prop 28 funding, the district has been able to remove many of the financial barriers that historically limited student participation in the arts.
Tordahl has also prioritized inclusion, integrating special education students into general music classes. “Not all educators have specific training working with students with special needs, but blending the classes has been both challenging and wonderful,” he says.
Case in point, the story of how, during an early leadership meeting, he was told of a kindergarten student who had been eloping from class every day, but when the arts teacher arrived, they stayed to do art and music.
“We’ve been at the schools for a year and a half now, and I hear these stories all the time, because that’s the power of the arts,” Tordahl smiles.
For some students, he explains, arts classes provide more than instruction: “It’s not that every student is going to be wonderful and behave well in class. But for students who may be struggling or who may not enjoy certain aspects of school and learning, art classes can really be a safe haven for them and get them through school.
“I’m so grateful to see that in our students, to watch it improve their self-esteem so they become more successful and connected to school. Kids just need access to the training and opportunity, and that is exactly what this program is all about.”
Learn more about LMSV’s Visual & Performing Arts and Christian’s background. Listen to the episode and subscribe to the podcast!
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