By Stephanie Kistner, Senior Program Manager
On Saturday, April 11th, 2015, P.S. ARTS hosted its first ever Inclusive Arts Day at Grand View Blvd. Elementary!
In 2013, P.S. ARTS, in partnership with LAUSD and the Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation, launched an inclusive music and visual arts program at Grand View Elementary. Since then, P.S. ARTS has been providing weekly in-school music and visual arts classes to all students at Grand View Elementary, including students with moderate to severe special needs, in an inclusive classroom environment.
The Inclusive Arts Day celebrated the hard work of school administrators, classroom teachers, P.S. ARTS Teaching Artists, and most importantly, the hard work of all the Grand View students themselves in making this program a success!
The growth of students who participate in these inclusive arts education classes, both typically developing and students with disabilities has been moving to witness. Three years ago it wouldn’t have possible for many of these students to interact with one another, and today, they now learn alongside each other and consider themselves peers, and friends.
Thanks to this program we’ve seen students take on new leadership roles, exhibit increased empathy, build skills in both music and visual arts, and express themselves freely and creatively in an environment that supports learning for everyone.
“Helping every child achieve his or her fullest potential is something we strongly believe in at P.S. ARTS, and we are honored to be part of this pivotal moment in history for educational equity.” – P.S. ARTS CEO, Dr. Kristen Paglia
The Event!
Free for all who attended, P.S. ARTS Teaching Artists, volunteers, and staff, led families in hands-on art activities that encouraged parents and children to work together creatively. Some of the fun and educational projects included: Monet Watercolor Resist Bridge Paintings, Model Magic Creatures designed in the style of American artist Wayne White, Japanese Koinobori Windsocks flown in celebration of the upcoming Children’s Day on May 5th, birdhouses colored in the manner of Mondrian, a station featuring Zot Artz Adaptive Art Supplies and a tile mural with Teaching Artist Tamie Smith based on P.S. ARTS’ 2014-2015 theme, “Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers.”
“It is truly important to me, as a P.S. ARTS Teaching Artist, that the learning needs of all my students are met. It is powerful to walk into my inclusive arts classes and see students that are generally separated from each other, working together as peers and friends. Beyond the creative and critical thinking skills developed in the arts classroom, I think there is tremendous value in teaching students to work collaboratively and respectfully in an integrated learning environment. P.S. ARTS creates space for compassionate learners, artists, and citizens.”
– P.S. ARTS Teaching Artist, Tamie Smith
We would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the students, families, classroom teachers, P.S. ARTS Teaching Artists and P.S. ARTS Staff who came out to participate and help us celebrate inclusive arts education!
For additional event photos, please visit our Flickr album!
