Jackalynn Snow channeled her inner Cynthia Erivo from the film Wicked at the most recent Lompoc Unified School District board meeting.
“Unlimited. With arts we are unlimited,” Snow sang during her presentation of the district’s strategic arts plan.
Snow, the district’s visual and performing arts program specialist, hoped her rendition of “Unlimited” would bring people into the moment, she later told the Sun. Continuing with the Wicked theme, she compelled board members to “defy gravity by approving the strategic arts plan,” which they did with a unanimous vote on May 19.
For more than five years, teachers, administrators, and community members have been formulating the strategic arts plan. In essence, the goal is to give every student equitable access to five creative disciplines: dance, music, visual arts, theater, and media arts. This iteration will last until 2030, when the district will reevaluate its progress.
Development started before Snow assumed her role with the district two and a half years ago. Members of the task force, who sang backup vocals with her at the meeting, had been meeting monthly to identify gaps in the arts curriculum.
Many holes were filled this year. For example, this spring semester was the first time that every elementary site had a full-time visual and performing arts teacher.
“That was a big thing to finally be fully staffed at the elementary level for those positions,” Snow said.
Another big win was hiring a theater teacher at Lompoc Valley Middle School. Next year, the campus will also offer choir and orchestra classes.
“We’re also looking at some film festival opportunities for middle school students, so we’ve got quite a few exciting things coming down the line,” Snow said.
By spring of 2027, Snow said, the district hopes to have dance classes at all campuses, adding a cultural layer to movement and music education.
More programming will be heading to Maple Continuation High School and Bob Forinash Community Day School, currently the most underserved when it comes to the arts, according to the district’s inventory.
Some instruction is offered by teachers on-site, but Lompoc Unified also partners with other organizations like the Children’s Creative Project for additional lessons.
On top of money that the district already allocates toward visual and performing arts, it receives funding from Proposition 28, an act passed by California voters in 2022 to support arts education.
“It’s a supplemental resource, so we have to keep spending what we’ve already spent on arts before we can use Prop. 28,” Snow explained. “That put us in a situation that we could really take action on some of these ideas, so that was super helpful and super exciting.”
The district wants to give students more creative opportunities because it prepares them for the workforce and higher education. In Snow’s experience, exercising creative muscles teaches kids how to adapt to new scenarios. It also builds social skills through face-to-face interactions.
“Also, I think just deeper thinking. There’s not a right or wrong answer with art, but you’re exploring humanity,” Snow said. “It can build empathy. It can build a way to look at the world through other perspectives, and I think that’s really important.”
To learn more about getting involved with the district’s visual and performing arts task force, email snow.jackalynn@lusd.org.
This article appears in June 4 – June 11, 2026.
