Wolfe ES Principal Jennifer French receives grant to champion creativity in schools

Jennifer French is one of 20 elementary and middle school principals from across the nation who has been selected by Crayola and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) to receive a “Champion Creatively Alive Children” school grant. French is principal of Eva Wolfe Elementary School.

Crayola and NAESP together selected 20 schools to receive the grants, which will fund innovative programs aimed at building creative capacity school-wide. The Champion Creatively Alive Children grants are intended to help schools nurture children’s creativity and inspire other schools to do the same.

Wolfe ES received a $2,500 monetary grant and $1,000 worth of Crayola products. French will share outcomes from their program via NAESP’s website and a special Principal magazine supplement to help other principals develop promising practices related to arts in education.

This grant is focused on the “therapeutic and intellectual power of art” to increase learning and self-regulation skills. The Title I teachers and the district’s Family and Community Engagement Services (FACES) are committed to increasing family engagement and celebrating students’ talents, as they integrate art across the curriculum. Families will use art to help children create meaning, promote mindfulness and appreciate beauty. Families and educators will adopt a holistic approach when partnering on this program.

The Champion Creatively Alive Children grant program asks principals to explore a “what if…” learning opportunity. For example, what if schools adopted the arts-infused teaching approach to help students deepen understanding? What if schools relied more on project-based authentic assessment rather than standardized tests? What if parents and schools found ways to document and articulate the value of creative experiences? The entries were judged on innovation, collaboration and sustainability.