Our Art and Leadership Development programs are not simply art programs—besides exploring artistic expression through visual art, dance, and percussion—our curriculum is designed to address key health issues and provide opportunities for students to develop leadership skills. Our programs target school sites and youth who are in need of outreach. We work with a majority of migrant family youth and English Language learners. Many of our students are struggling with issues of gang involvement, the importance of school, and making positive life choices around sexuality, tobacco, alcohol, and drug use. Our programs are very successful—the youth who attend our programs have shown increased school attendance and increased academic performance! Our youth have shown marked growth in feeling confident and speaking up in school classes, appreciating their personal talents, and making choices in the present to protect their futures. One of the greatest strengths to the success of Mariposa’s Art are our classroom facilitators. Because of the intimate class size and year-long involvement, youth are able to develop amazing mentor relationships with our facilitators. Each facilitator is an accomplished artist, dancer, or musician with a strong classroom teaching background! In our elementary and middle school programs, we provide separate boys’ and girls’ Art and Leadership Development programs. In our high school programs, we provide several co-ed programs that apply art and leadership education with real world experience. These classes include our very successful model community service learning program, Art Teach, and our new Guitar Teach. In the Art Teach and Guitar Teach programs, high school students are trained how to teach and then are paid internships to teach art in elementary school after-school programs.