Founded in 1934, the mission of the Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education is to empower youth and their families by creating a culture of learning through high quality social, cultural, and educational opportunities. As we develop and strengthen our programs to meet this mission, we have taken the themes of explore, achieve and create as our guiding principles. From first grade to college, kids grow up with us. Our program and services include: ArtWorks summer internship; arts partners; scholastic art and writing awards; high school portfolio development workshop; after school/ out of school time programs; ninth grade success initiative; Casita high school bound; Casita college bound; Casita gallery; Casita presents; community referral center and workshop; and Casita artists-in-residence.