Carver Elementary hopes to become a “Model” school for arts integration
Members of the Mississippi Whole Schools review team visited Carver as part of the school's application process
TUPELO, MISS (WCBI) – It was a day for visitors at Carver Elementary. As guests from the community read to students as part of Read Across America Week, a team from Mississippi Whole Schools was touring the hallways and classrooms. Carver is an “arts-integrated school” which means that music, art, dance, and drama are used to teach subjects such as reading, writing, math, and science.
Carver hopes to achieve a “Model School” designation from Mississippi Whole Schools.
“That focuses on art integration, enhancing the learning, it has such a wonderful impact on our students, not only academics, but social, emotional growth as well, and their creativity, it is a wonderful opportunity for us,” said Carver Principal April McIntosh.
But first, the team of six reviewers must give Carver a passing grade. They had plenty of examples of art and lessons from students adorning the hallways.
“We are looking at their planning structure, how they include arts in the curriculum, we interview teachers, parents, community members, administration here, so they can give us a full picture of how this looks on their campus,” said Charlotte Smelse, with the Mississippi Arts Commission.
The student’s eye-catching art on the wall is only half the story, another main objective of all lessons, making sure the students retain the knowledge.
“It has been proven that using arts integration in the classroom is better for kids, with ADHD language barriers and it makes learning more fun and more memorable for them,” said First Grade Teacher Kalie Daniel, who is also the Arts Integration Project Director at Carver.
Hannah Claire McCullough said her daughter, who is in kindergarten, is getting a great head start on learning because of arts integration.
“She is just so excited, she always comes home with a new jingle, a new dance to go along with all the learning going on up here, and always happy when she comes home from school,” McCullough said.
It could take several weeks for the Mississippi Whole Schools team to decide whether Carver will be named a Model School for arts integration.
If Carver is named a model school, teachers and administrators from across the state will tour Carver to get ideas about how to integrate the arts in education on their campuses.
