What Exactly Is Santa Barbara Creative Education?
We are a collaborative of professionals with experience as teachers and tutors in academics, business, social enterprise, civic engagement, music, art, theater, athletics, and media.
We formed a group called Santa Barbara Creative Education (also known as The D'Arezzo Center) to offer support to families in the Santa Barbara Area. We are just that... a resource center for tutoring in academics and the arts.
In the past 3 years we have supported families from all areas, Public Schools, Private Schools, Charter Schools and Homeschoolers. Our approach is to help children succeed in their academic classes and offer enrichment in the arts and humanities.
The Founder and Director, Joseph Natale holds a Master of Science in Education (and also in Business). The focus of SBCE is to assist students to attain academic excellence in Education and experience the Humanities and Arts. The "Learning Coaches" of SBCE have extensive experience in community service working with children who are out of the box, want to move faster or are on and individual track than is offered in traditional public schools, are struggling, survivors of abuse, human trafficking and human rights violations worldwide and locally.
When the Pandemic hit, we decided to offer our services to families who had to work (Health Care Workers, single parents, those who have zero experience overseeing education and non-English speaking).
We offer both a day program AND an after school program. We have been Public Health Certified to offer in-person Learning Stations, primarily outdoors. Our Learning Stations have been about 1 Learning Coach to up to 7 participants.
We have had no directincidents of COVID generated from our program due to our stringent protocols.
We contract directly with parents, charter schools, the Children's Resource Center and in some cases with Public Schools-for example when a child is injured and cannot attend regular school. We have also offered services for programs such as residential services for those suffering from trauma (Hope Refuge Center for local trafficked teenage girls).
Moving forward, we are happy to continue to support students from all walks of life. We try to say "no to no one," who needs support. We have been able to raise Scholarship Funds (tax deductible through a local nonprofit SBACT Youth Advocacy Fund https://sbact.org/yaf ) for families who qualify, as well as those registered with the Children's Resource Center.
All our Learning Coaches (tutors) and volunteers are Live Scanned through the Department of Justice. We also put our Learning Coaches and volunteers through ongoing training to learn our methods and to stay current with all the current rights and laws associated with children's programs.
We have had great success, including integrating the Public School Students this year!
I hope this has helped you to understand better who we are and what we do. We are here to support any families who need our services for either day or afterschool programs.
A Message from the Founder
Welcome to the
D'Arezzo Center for Creative Education
I am so honored at your interest in our program!
My name is Tony Joseph D'Arezzo Natale. All 4 of my grandparents immigrated from Italy, and yes, they claim to be related to Guido D'Arezzo! Perhaps it is true, because I began writing music on manuscript as a child before I had any music lessons. Creative expression is in my DNA. I love to love people and inspire young people to discover their inner creativity and strategically discover their individual gifts and share them in a way that meets their personal vision and dream. Once youth are fully equipped we can then guide them to look outside themselves and contribute to their local and global community through the expression of their individual gifts, skills and talents.
How did D'Arezzo Creative Education Vision Begin?
I have lived in Santa Barbara since 1965, went to Hope School, La Colina, San Marcos, SBCC, UCSB and finally graduated with both business and education Master of Science Degrees from University of San Francisco.
I have 4 biological, 2 adopted children and 15 grandchildren. Our family is integrated and our colors are like the rainbow. My roots are Italian from both sides of my family. My grandparents on both sides immigrated from Italy at the turn of the Century 1900.
I am a Social Entrepreneur. I create business, consult to business, and develop programs worldwide with a focus on education for victims and survivors of human rights violations and human trafficking.
As I move towards my senior years, I have decided to open a program for youth here in Santa Barbara. We have completed 2 years now and our program is strong. We are called "D'Arezzo Creative Education," named after my mother's side of the family. I chose D'Arezzo after Guido D'Arezzo, the founder of Modern Music. Guido developed organized music, (the octave) otherwise known as solfeggio.
Our approach to education is to discover the learning style of each student, and then together we discover learning. We incorporate the 4-core subject areas, English, History, Science and Math into creative learning, project based methods. In the end students produce their learning through creative expression such as music, art, plays, poetry, film and video productions.
We focus on Social Enterprise, and Civic Responsibility. The children are each voted in as stock holding members of our for profit company, D'Arezzo Creative Productions (DCP). Through DCP, we produce events, products and now offer tours to raise funds for local conservation and social needs. We have developed a non-profit fund called the Youth Advocacy Fund where people can donate funds used for scholarships for local children.
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Joseph D'Arezzo Natale
Founder & Director
D'Arezzo Center for Creative Expression
D'Arezzo Creative Education
Technically we are a supplemental program to Independent Study and Home Schoolers. We are now offering courses and registration associated with an accredited school. We are also available to Public and Private School Students for after-school tutoring, enrichment and our new Entrepreneurship Program.
We are a fully approved Vendor to Charter Schools which are fully accredited schools. Home School Families are able to enroll their children through the Charters and most or all of the cost of our program can be covered depending on the time of the year you enroll.
If you are an independent Home Schooler and have signed an affidavit with the State of California, then the cost of our program would have to be paid out of pocket.
We have our own full curriculum that includes all core subjects, and enrichment classes in music, art, poetry, acting, entrepreneurship and civic engagement with an emphasis in land, sea and people.
We have accredited teachers and professionals for instructors. So, whether you are an independent Home Schooler or with a Charter School, we can ultimately meet all the requirements. We are able to generate all the work samples you need to meet State of California requirements. It does take family involvement and homework, but our creative approach typically means less homework than most public or private schools.
If you are a part of a charter school your children are able to attend a maximum of 12 hours per week.
D'Arezzo Center for Creative Education Goals
GOALS FOR THE YOUTH MEMBERS CENTER
1. Center for Collaboration for Home School and Independent Study Students & Families
Discovering the right path for the individual and supporting them as they walk that path is the foundation to success. This is the thematic approach I have utilized in all applications of mentoring and guidance.
Together with service providers, students, and homeschool families we have identified the need to provide an environment where students are able to work individually and corporately. Independent Study Students and home schooled students are often isolated from their friends. We are creating an environment where students and families are able to collaborate together, inspire one another, complement one another and enjoy a social environment.
2. Family Support strategically designed for each and every individual
One of our highest goals is to offer qualified and nurturing support to students and families who Home School and are working through an Independent Study program. At our Center we establish written goals with the families, creating a strategic plan supporting the students and their families according to their style and approach. We invite parents and guardians to use our center as a second home, as an academic resource, and a place they can trust when they are not able to be their with their child, that our staff is continuing with the agreed upon plan. Our intent is not to "babysit" but to share in the development of each individual with excellence.
3. Creative Expression Through the Arts and Civic Engagement
We will maintain our theme in the Arts and Civic Engagement. Whether students are focusing on the Arts or not, our environment will use the Arts as the foundation of our support. Reports have shown that exposing children to the Arts contributes to certain development areas of the brain. Therefore, the value of our Center may even be higher for those students who are focused on science, math and engineering. We welcome all students to participate and share in our Center's unique environment and hope to inspire creative expression and engagement in civic responsibility.
1-805-455-1124 or email
We are a Heartland Charter Schools Approved Vendor.