Phil Rydeen

Phil Rydeen has been a music educator and administrator for three decades, supporting the creative lives of Oakland Unified School District students. As the Director of Visual and Performing Arts, he has been responsible for rebuilding visual and performing arts programs and moving the OUSD towards the goal of a quality arts education for every student. Mr. Rydeen provides instructional supervision for the 24 Itinerant music specialists, professional development support for arts teachers, and plans and implements student events including the OUSD Jazz Festival, OUSD Orchestra Festival, Elementary Music Festival, and the Summer School Jazz Camp. Additionally he oversees the Arts Incentive Grant, a three-year funding program to catalyze innovative arts programs in Oakland schools in partnership with community organizations. With a focus on quality instruction in the arts programs Mr. Rydeen has assembled a leadership team to expand arts equity and teacher leadership throughout the district. Past initiatives that Mr. Rydeen has supported include: The Arts Learning Anchor Schools; the Music Integration Literacy Enhancement, a US DOE grant-funded project; Orff Levels training for all music teachers; the Dance Infrastructure project, and numerous others.