LEAP ARTS IN EDUCATION

Leap Arts in Education is a private nonprofit organization founded in 1979 in response to the severe cuts in California school budgets that effectively eliminated the arts from elementary education.

Led by Founder Daniel J. Sullivan and Founding Director Trudy Zimmerman, Leap served 180 children in one school in its first year with hands-on art experiences. Encouraged by the positive changes witnessed in the pilot program and by the overwhelming response from the community, Leap expanded its programs and increasingly served more schools each year. Additional teaching artists joined the Leap roster to provide innovative arts instruction in their specific area of expertise, covering a wide range of artistic disciplines including painting, sculpture, murals, storytelling, theater, multi-media, music, and dance. In 1985, Leap initiated its architecture residency program in collaboration with the American Institute of Architects, the first ever in the Bay Area. In 1987, Leap was the first arts education organization to receive the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Business/Arts Award for Excellence, in recognition of the impact its programs have had on a generation of San Francisco children.