The U.S. Department of Education will host the launch Tuesday of "Champion Creatively Alive Children," a professional development program involving Crayola, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Art Education Association, and Partnership for 21st Century Skills — all aimed at spotlighting the value of arts-infused education in schools and fostering creativity in every child.
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The program will emphasize creativity as a 21st century skill, promoting the importance of arts education and ensuring that principals have the tools to lead their faculty in developing originality in every student.
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Among those on hand will be Rachel Goslins, executive director of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, who will join the Education Department's Director of Strategic Partnerships Suzanne Immerman to announce the new program. Goslins will present key findings from the newly released report, "Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America's Future Through Creative Schools." She will also emphasize the critical role that arts education plays in closing the achievement gap and building students' innovative thinking skills.
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Additional participants will include Sharon Hartley, executive vice president for marketing and product innovation at Crayola; Vicky Lozano, vice president at Crayola; Gail Connelly, executive director of the National Association of Elementary School Principals; Deborah Reeve, executive director of the National Art Education Association; and Tim Magner, executive director of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
Crayola will present 36 works of art by students on the theme, “What creativity means to me,” for placement in public spaces around the Education Department's headquarters and regional offices to stress the importance of fostering creativity in children.