Get Free Professional Development on Arts-Infused Education

With government and business leaders now emphasizing creativity as an essential 21st century skill for every student, Crayola has launched an initiative to inspire creativity in the next generation of Edisons, Armstrongs and Zuckerbergs. 

Crayola has teamed up with the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), the National Art Education Association (NAEA) and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) to create the "Champion Creatively Alive Children" program. The professional development program emphasizes creativity as a 21st century skill and addresses the need for arts-infused education in schools. It empowers art teachers to become the "chief creative officers" in their schools and ensures that principals have the tools to lead their faculty to develop the originality in every child.

The "Champion Creatively Alive Children" professional development program includes videos showcasing how arts-infused education builds the 4Cs – critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, communication. A fifth video devoted to arts-infused education advocacy helps art teachers become the chief creative officer in their schools. Each video tells the story of a school that was awarded one of 20 "Champion Creatively Alive Children" mini-grants from Crayola and NAESP for the innovative ways they are integrating art across the curriculum. Five facilitator guides accompany the video series to enable principals and teachers to lead workshops and staff and parents' meetings around art as a way to building 21st century skills.

The entire series is available at no charge on Crayola.com.

"Creativity and innovative thinking are essential skills for success in school and in the 21st century workforce," said Goslins.  "It is not enough merely to graduate more students from school; we must engage and inspire them while they are there, and prepare them for successful careers afterwards.  All of our research points to the power of the arts in schools to increase academic achievement in reading and math, engage more students in learning and build creative thinking skills.  Programs like "Champion Creatively Alive Children" are crucial in giving principals and teachers the tools they need to ignite the potential in all of their students."

"Creativity is a skill that every child needs," said Mike Perry, Crayola President and Chief Executive Officer. "We started this program asking ourselves 'What if every principal and teacher championed creatively alive children in their schools?' Imagine how ready these children will be to face 21st century challenges with a strong foundation in creative thinking."

Education World®             
Copyright © 2011 Education World