20 Innovative Ideas

From the 2014-2015 Champion Creatively Alive Children Grant Winners.
Principal Supplement: Champion Creatively Alive Children, September/October 2015

CLASSROOMS AS STUDIOS
WYLANDVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL,
EIGHTY FOUR, PENNSYLVANIA
Christina Unitas, Principal
When a former art teacher became principal, she worked with the Creative Leadership Team to transform the entire school into a model of inquiry-based, hands-on learning.

CONSTRUCTION AND CURATION
PLEASANT HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL,
PLEASANT HILL, MISSOURI
Sue Herrera, Principal
Using the theme of Construction, the Creative Leadership Team built a depth of knowledge as students, teachers, and parents became curators of their own learning.

CULTURE, ART, AND THE COMMON CORE
THE FAMILY SCHOOL,
BRONX, NEW YORK
Pamela Lee, Principal
Professional development and student projects integrated visual art, music, dance, and folktales from three diverse cultures in their community: Hispanic, West African, and Bengali.

DESIGN THINKING: AN INVENTIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH
YOUNG AUDIENCES CHARTER SCHOOL
AT KATE MIDDLETON SCHOOL DISTRICT, GRETNA, LOUISIANA
Folwell Dunbar, Principal
The inventive process of Design Thinking reshaped their professional development and curriculum.

INQUIRY-BASED CONSTRUCTIVIST CURRICULUM
COMPASS CHARTER SCHOOL,
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
Brooke Peters, Co-Founder and Principal
In collaboration with the Whitney Museum of American Art and New York’s renowned Studio in a School program, teachers were trained to integrate art across the curriculum.

LEARNERS AS DOCENTS
MARSHALL SCHOOL,
SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY
Bonita Samuels, Principal
This K-2 school is based on developmentally appropriate practices and the belief that children are visually literate— able to use visual clues to decode early reading and math concepts.

MAKE THINKING VISIBLE
PARK FOREST ELEMENTARY,
STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA
Donnan Stoicovy, Principal
Art-infused education helped this school emphasize mindfulness and explore the impact of relationships with others and the environment.

MAKER SPACE WITH RIGOR AND RUBRICS
WEAVER LAKE ELEMENTARY,
MAPLE GROVE, MINNESOTA
Dennis Palm, Principal
Inspired by MIT’s Life Long Kindergarten approach to creative-analytical exploring, this school created a Maker Space where students brought an artistic approach to the engineering design process.

MULTIPLE TYPES OF LITERACY
E.T. BELSAW-MOUNT VERNON SCHOOL,
MOBILE, ALABAMA
Angie Brown, Principal
Historically, this rural, Title I school had limited access to cultural and visual art resources. They established an in-depth partnership with performing arts schools and students became their teachers.

RELATIONSHIPS: CROSS-BUILDING AND CROSS-DISCIPLINE COLLABORATIONS
EAST PALESTINE SCHOOL DISTRICT,
EAST PALESTINE, OHIO
Carol Vollnogle, Principal,
East Palestine Middle School

Teachers from the district’s elementary, middle, and high school formed a districtwide Creative Leadership Team that focused on visual art integration across the curriculum, at all grade levels, across three buildings.

PARENTS AND TEACHERS ARE PARTNERS IN TRANSFORMING A SCHOOL
RICHARD EDWARDS ELEMENTARY,
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Judith Sauri, Principal
This arts-rich school made a deep commitment to family engagement and transforming the school into a museum-like community center.

PARTNERSHIPS ENRICH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
THE STUDIO SCHOOL,
NORTHGLENN, COLORADO
Sharla Kaczar, Principal
Weaving the arts into Common Core standards and daily teaching practices is the Creative Leadership Team’s priority.

SCHOOL CULTURE AND SOCIALEMOTIONAL GOALS
HAMLINE ELEMENTARY,
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Taina Velazquez-Drover, Principal
Arts-integration is used to foster a positive school culture and build self-awareness/ self-management skills.

TEAM BUILDING THROUGH THE ARTS
MONARCH GLOBAL ACADEMY,
LAUREL, MARYLAND
Donna O’Shea, Principal
The Creative Leadership Team provided a robust, year-long series of professional development workshops to help colleagues discover the power of the arts to enrich learning and relationships.

THE POWER OF CHANGE
MARIETTA CENTER FOR ADVANCED ACADEMICS,
MARIETTA, GEORGIA
Jennifer Hernandez, Principal
The theme, The Power of Change, engaged teachers in student-directed, project-based, experiential learning centered on real-life problems and the design thinking process.

TURNING AROUND A SCHOOL WITH THE ARTS
BURBANK ELEMENTARY, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
Rachel Messineo, Principal
Art-integration has been key to turning around this school, previously ranked in the lowest 5 percent in California. Art has improved teacher instructional strategies, increased parental engagement, and elevated student achievement.

VISUAL LITERACY
STEPHENS ELEMENTARY,
HOUSTON, TEXAS
Raymond Stubblefield, Principal
The Creative Leadership Team helped teachers build visual literacy skills and link art with written literacy.

VISUAL REFLECTION THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT
LIBBY CENTER,
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON
Diane DeWitt, Principal
The Libby Center supports 32 Spokane Public Schools. The Center’s Creative Leadership Team provided professional development for teachers on using visual journaling to identify individual learning styles and help students represent their thinking.

WHAT IF… RELUCTANT LEARNERS LEANED FORWARD
PATERSON SCHOOL #2,
PATERSON, NEW JERSEY
Felisa VanLiew, Principal
The school’s interdisciplinary approach focused on hands-on projects that motivated students to ask essential questions and transform ideas into physical form.

WHOLE SCHOOL-WHOLE CHILD
THOMAS STREET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL,
TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI
Chad Chism, Principal
Part of the Mississippi Whole School Institute, this school is weaving art across the curriculum on a daily basis.


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