Celebrating a Season of Growth: Reflections on Our JCCS Fall 2025 Partnership
This fall, JCCS students transformed classrooms into creative sanctuaries, proving that arts education can change trajectories. As we close another impactful season with the San Diego County Office of Education and the Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS) program, we are honored to share highlights from a fall marked by growth, creativity, and deepening relationships. Our journey with JCCS continues to expand. Read more about the foundations of our ongoing partnership in our recent blog post here and keep reading to learn more about what we accomplished this Fall.
Deepening Connections, Lasting Impact
During the fall session, four of our teaching artists focused on legacy projects, collaborating closely with youth across four JCCS sites and cohorts. They nurtured creative projects that leave a lasting impact on the communities and learning environments they engage with. These collaborations extend beyond art; they are about creating spaces of belonging, confidence, and hope.
South Campus: Creating Sanctuary with Kelsey Kenny
Since Spring 2023, Teaching Artist Kelsey Kenny has co-created a sanctuary with JCCS students at South Campus in National City. Over the past three years, Kelsey and the students have transformed their space with mosaics, murals, and now stained glass sculptures—bringing color and belonging to an environment that can often feel unwelcoming. Experience the students’ voices first-hand and the significance of these projects in this video.
South Middle School: Exploring Culture with Ulises Galicia
Teaching Artist Ulises Galicia deepened students’ connection to their heritage by introducing traditional Mexican paper-crafting. This fall, students created individual piñata projects and explored the vibrant world of alebrijes during Día de los Muertos. Together, the class built a larger-than-life Quetzalcoatl sculpture, now a proud fixture in their classroom.
37ECB: Legacy Projects and Internships with Sheena Rae Dowling
Over the past year at 37ECB, Sheena Rae Dowling has guided her class in creating collaborative legacy projects aimed at making the City Heights campus more welcoming and inspiring. In this session, Sheena introduced the concept of laser engraving, which she was able to demonstrate using the tools available at the ARTS Center’s maker workshop. This empowered students to design handwritten messages intended to encourage future program participants.
The opportunity to utilize the tools in the maker workshop inspired many of the youth in the program to create mass-produced artworks, which could be sold as pins and keychains, fostering both creative expression and an entrepreneurial spirit. We are excited to collaborate further with a group of leaders from this class in the Spring, where they will have the chance to engage with the ARTS Center and gain hands-on experience in the Maker Workshop!
This year, ARTS also launched the Artist Leaders Internship at the 37ECB site. With the support of the Collins Arts and Sports Foundation, a select group of dedicated students applied to participate in additional hours on legacy projects at their school. These paid opportunities allow young people to engage more deeply in art projects that matter to them, strengthening their relationships with peers and artistic mentors, and recognizing the value of their creative work.
Global Academy: Intergenerational Mural-Making with Lerida Armendariz
Our partnership with JCCS Global Academy culminated in a unique mural project led by ARTS Teaching Artist Lerida Armendariz and the JCCS Teacher Ms. Cecilia. High school students reflected on what they wished they had seen as younger students, then became mentors, gathering doodles from Kimball Elementary students and transforming them into a vibrant mural. As Lerida shared: “There is a unique magic in the intergenerational exchange: the elementary students provided the spark of imagination, and the high school students provided the hands to hold it.” For many high school artists, especially those moving between Tijuana and San Diego, this project fostered a sense of belonging in National City. The mural, featuring local landmarks and iconic symbols of youth, now brightens the Kimball Elementary lunchroom, a testament to youth creativity and community.
Continuing our Partnership
As we celebrate these final moments of the fall session, we are grateful for the partnerships, creativity, and resilience that define our work with JCCS. At the end of the program, we asked youth across all of our JCCS/ARTS 4 Justice classes how they felt about their experience, and we received many positive responses:
“I have been able to grow more academically.”
“This experience was able to help me see who I am as a person and what I am capable of doing.”
“I see myself graduating because I used to be so behind and now I’m trying to catch up.”
“It gives me many different opportunities and teaches me more about new things.”
Welcoming Amanda Castro, MSW, as Program Coordinator
“As a community-focused social worker, it is my goal to transform traditional harmful institutions into systems that benefit our community. ”
We are thrilled to welcome Amanda Castro, MSW, as our new program coordinator. Amanda has been part of our ARTS community since 2025, first as an MSW intern from the University of Southern California. Their dedication to youth empowerment and trauma-informed practice brings invaluable insight to our team. As Amanda shares: "It is a privilege to take on the ARTS 4 Justice Program Coordinator role this Spring session. As a community-focused social worker, it is my goal to transform traditional harmful institutions into systems that benefit our community. I am excited to take on this role, and continue working within our beautiful South Bay." Learn more about Amanda’s impact in their intern highlight from last Spring.
Thank you to all the teaching artists, staff, and youth whose dedication makes these projects possible. Together, we continue to create spaces of hope, belonging, and transformation through creativity, and we are excited to expand our partnership even further this Spring 2026 session with more in-class art experiences, legacy projects, and paid internships!
