20 Years, 20 Stories

[kidsmart20]

Robby Moss, Hartwig Moss Insurance Agency KID smART supporter, friend, and collaborator

The love for KID smART started early in my family with my mother, Nancy Robinson Moss. She was a supporter and board member of KID smART, and championed the idea of making sure young students were exposed to and had access to art.  

In early 2005 before hurricane Katrina struck, Nancy and then executive director Echo Olander conceived of a project to create a mural titled “From Mississippi to New Orleans” in the style of Walter Anderson. My mom and Echo presented the project to our company, Hartwig Moss Insurance Agency, and we quickly agreed to sponsor and underwrite the project. 

Students from W.J. Fischer Elementary were engaged to create the mural after first taking a field trip to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, where Walter Anderson’s art was being featured. Once learning about the artist and seeing his paintings, the students then went to work creating their version of a mural depicting the journey down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. In what ended up being a 22-panel mural painted on a series of doors that were then connected via hinges, the students created a lasting work of art that is still prominently displayed at our office. While we get to enjoy the beautiful mural today, the most lasting impression for me was seeing the joy in each of the student’s faces when we threw a reveal party for them to unveil their mural. It was evident how proud they were of their mural, and the confidence and excitement they exuded as they talked about their project was infectious. 

Fast forward more than a decade later to 2018, the Tricentennial of New Orleans. An idea was sparked to create another mural to commemorate this historic occasion. The Hartwig Moss Insurance Agency in partnership with The Nola Mural Project agreed to donate one of the facades of our building to an artist to create a “300” mural. As the project began to develop, I wanted to incorporate KID smART in this project as a tribute to my mom, who had recently passed. The synergies seemed perfectly aligned: KID smART students getting access to a working artist to learn about their inspiration, painting style and execution of a large-scale project; students from Esperanza Charter having their own large canvas to create their own mural of what New Orleans means to them; creating and generating buzz and exposure to promote KID smART in the community and with potential future donors; and for Hartwig Moss Insurance, another amazing and inspiring piece of art to showcase to our community at large.

[kidsmart20]

Nikki Jackson KID smART Teaching Artist, 1999 Current NOCCA Faculty Member

During my interview with KID smART’s Executive Director in 1999, Echo asked me how I would approach teaching a group of children at the Audubon Wilderness site. I remember her surprise when I told her I thought the children would be very scared, (and oh, they were!), so I would want to hold our first meeting in surroundings that were familiar to them.

That might have been a new idea, but Echo listened and made it happen. Openness to collaboration, listening, and doing whatever it took to meet the children on their own ground was built into the KID smART program from its inception. It is one of the most magical things about it. Instead of the children fitting themselves to the adults’ expectations of what KID smART encompassed, we could be flexible and adjust as the experience unfolded.  

Even after the children grew accustomed to the natural surroundings of the Audubon site and began to trust us, we ran into their fears whenever we ventured out of their known environment. Large bodies of water are scary when you only know it as it comes out of a faucet, (you could drown!), so crossing the Mississippi River for the first time was a very big deal. Some of them were terrified of crossing any bridges, (what if we fall!). But doing those things - exploring the city beyond their neighborhood, visiting Allison’s studio and The House of Blues - meant they were meeting people who took them seriously, who were interested in how they saw their world, who wanted to spend time with them. It opened those children up, and lit them up. It was like watching tightly curled tendrils unfurling in front of our eyes.

My job was to create a safe and trustworthy space. One with a clear, predictable structure, where every individual was seen, heard, and respected. Only then could we explore together and respond to the richness of the world around us made larger and richer because of the multicultural approaches we brought with us or discovered along the way.

It meant uncomfortable truths, like hunger and anger and fear, had to be addressed before we could move on to the thinking and exploring that is artmaking. So preparing and sharing food together was built into our Saturday routine. We brought cereal and sandwich fixings with us as well as oil pastels and paper. Anger and fear were given space to be expressed when they needed to be in ways that accepted their reality but didn’t disrupt other children’s joy. Nor were they allowed to define the child experiencing them, because we all have difficult days. Lunchtime was often when KID smART co-founders, Alison and Campbell, would visit, providing a captivated and enthusiastic audience as the children shared stories of discoveries, setbacks and advances through the work they’d made. Often that was all that was needed to turn even the most difficult day into a good one: the experience of being recognized and valued. As the weeks went by, we saw fears drop away as curiosity and confidence grew in their place.

I think the true patron saint of education is Janus, the Roman god of doorways and gateways. Doors and gates can be passed in either direction, and for me teaching and learning are the two faces of a single activity, one that I love whichever way I’m facing. Teaching is often talked about as if it’s something that people of a higher status do to people of a lower status. I believe that teaching and learning are simply synonyms for what happens when people of similar status but different experiences come together to listen, explore, and share with each other. KID smART exemplifies that and always has, especially in its ability to bring both realism and optimism to the work. The organization is built on an innate understanding of the power in far-reaching and collaborative partnerships and the momentum created when we all learn together. That vision of what’s possible, and its commitment to the children of New Orleans, is as relevant and vital today as it ever was. I am so grateful and honored to have had a tiny share in it, and I’m proud to witness its reach 20 years later!

[kidsmart20]

Bessie Goggins KID smART Collaborative Teacher ARISE Academy

As Mr. K first presented to ARISE Academy’s faculty about arts integration and KID smART in 2011, I knew I had to bring theatre into my classroom. Mr. K talked about the power and results of integrating theatre in core subjects. As a first-year teacher of third-grade science and social studies, I thought, “Oh my gosh. I totally want to work with him to push student learning and success!” From that thought, our collaborative co-teaching took off.

In my third year of teaching at ARISE, I witnessed the particularly transformative power of the arts through a specific student - we’ll call him Jamal. He had such a vibrant personality in the classroom; he always had one of those big belly laughs, and he always really got into whatever topic was of interest to him. But every day when it came time for reading and writing, it seemed like Jamal’s head hurt, his stomach hurt, his toe hurt. There was always a hiccup for him being able to fully focus and learn about reading and writing.

One place that was a huge struggle for him was around revisions for writing. It didn’t seem to click for him, asking questions to himself like “who is my audience” and “are they understanding the thoughts out of my head that I’m writing on paper?” We’d have one-on-one conferences about revisions, but he often expressed frustration.

Our winter project was a mystery reading and writing unit. Our students partnered up and wrote mystery plays around four characters: a detective, a sidekick, a villain, and a red herring. They selected a winter holiday that this mystery would take place around, such as Hanukah, Kwanzaa, or Christmas.

Jamal and his partner wrote a play called “Who Stole Santa’s Cookies?” Mr. K worked with me to teach them about writing dialogue and stage directions for their scripts. Jamal and partner were fast and furious writing and talking about it for several days of lessons. Then I had the writing partners form a group of four to pick which of the plays they wanted to perform. Jamal’s group ended up choosing Jamal’s play. The group then started positive rehearsal, meaning every time you rehearse you’re thinking about what you can do to get better. How believable is your character? How well do you know your lines? Are the lines believable? Are the stage directions correct? In positive rehearsal, not only are you memorizing your lines, but you’re also revising the writing itself as you consider your audience.

Jamal was acting and observing during rehearsal, and he said, “Oh wait! This isn’t a good dialogue. Let’s cross that out. Here’s what the character would really say.” All of a sudden, I saw him starting to revise his writing. He was using everything he learned in theatre – stage directions, thinking about your audience, positive rehearsal – with everything he learned in writing – editing, revising, language.

Finally, the students added props and performed in front of first graders. I clearly remember Jamal that day. He came running up to me right after his group performed and first grade applauded them. He said “Ms. Goggins – you know I want to be a firefighter when I grow up, right?” (I always wanted to know what they wanted to be when they grow up so I could make the lessons more applicable to their goals.) I acknowledged his question, and I congratulated him on his play and performance. And he shared next, “When I’m not fighting fires, I want to be a playwright.” Both he and I smiled with delight for the rest of the afternoon.

For the rest of that year – from January to May – he was so much more invested in his writing. He felt the momentum and success of writing and he saw his audience. I think his mystery play was the first time all of that clicked for him: understanding the power of the written word and getting that written word out into the air for an audience to hear and appreciate. And none of this would have happened for Jamal, our other students, or me without this phenomenal collaboration with Mr. K and KID smART.

[kidsmart20]

Lauren Fremin, M.S. 3rd Grade ELA & Social Studies Teacher Langston Hughes Academy

This semester, I’ve had the privilege to co-teach with Samantha King, a KID smART theatre teaching artist. Ms. King does a phenomenal job with professional development, consideration of teacher schedules, and flexibility relative to the brand new, rigorous curriculum our school adopted this year.

As a result of working with KID smART, I am able to recognize students’ ability to meet the objective and standards per lesson through an arts-integrated approach, as well as my ability to document their learning. I am able to see how arts integration stimulates certain kids’ minds (i.e. engagement) who are typically unable to grasp certain objectives/standards that are normally delivered in a non-arts-integrated way. This realization that students are able to be reached and measured through different avenues has changed the way I deliver my lessons in order to reach all students where they feel comfortable. I’ve seen certain students who’ve had a lot of trouble engaging with my traditional way of teaching significantly improve their ability to remain engaged in the lesson and demonstrate what they’ve learned through the arts. KID smART’s nontraditional approach to teaching content helps students practice the importance of working and learning together while having fun and feeling comfortable with outward expression.

Not only are my students more engaged, they also show proof of content absorption through KID smART’s measurable ways of documenting their ability to meet the objective/standards per lesson. Through all of my findings, I truly believe that an arts-integrated approach is a highly valuable avenue for teachers trying to reach the seemingly non-reachable. Arts integration can also deepen students’ grasp of what’s being taught, not to mention how much more enjoyable it is for 98% of my student body.

I believe that KID smART inspires each school it collaborates with and empowers both teachers and students to take ownership of their learning and understand learning as a positive process. It has been a privilege and an honor to work with the staff of KID smART, and I feel lucky that I’ve been exposed to this so that I can carry this on to further my students’ learning. KID smart invests in providing thoughtful and meaningful opportunities for all the people with whom they engage. I feel so lucky that I learned alongside them. I hope that many others have this opportunity.

View documented data from KID smART schools here > kidsmart.org/impact

[kidsmart20]

Rosalia & Lyrik, KID smART Student Artists Artwork now on display at the Ogden Museum

From April 18th to May 18th, KID smART students are featured artists at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art! This exhibition displays student drawings, prints, collages, and poetry to give viewers a peek into KID smART classrooms. 

Meet two KID smART artists whose work is now on display at the Ogden:

Rosalia, 1st grader at Hynes

Ms. Andrea, your teaching artist, mentioned that this group project took a lot of work and collaboration. Can you tell us about the process of making this book?

We just cut pieces and glued stuff and then we put it together on paper. Alice, Lucas, Chloe, Eva, and Angel made the front cover and I made the back cover and we all made a page. My page was about Rosa Parks.

What did you learn about Rosa Parks?

First she went in the front of the bus and then a guy told her to get up and then she didn’t say anything, she ignored him. Then she went to jail and then Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted her to have freedom. So I just drew a bus and her sitting in the front and it’s going up.

We love the back cover you made – can you tell us what inspired you?

I wanted to make it rainbow and I added the lights so people can see the important person who’s talking.

What was the hardest part of this project?

Cutting! And writing. But writing was also my favorite part of working in the group.

Ms. Andrea told me that you were very good at adding finishing touches to your work and helping others.  

I helped Angela and I gave her pieces of paper and cutted with her and glued it. And then Lucas helped me write my autograph. It’s important to autograph your art so people know what you did!

What is your favorite thing about learning ELA through visual art?

I like the activities and Ms. Andrea tells us if we can do other things and do it better ways. I learned how to make comics and books.

What do you want to tell all the museum visitors who will see your art?

Me and my friends made it… and teachers helped us!

Lyrik, 2nd grader at Esperanza

Ms. Nobile, your teaching artist, tells us that you created a chapbook of your poems and art. Your book is called ‘Famous Heroes’ and you wrote about what you think is unfair, your wishes for change, and the lives of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Susan B. Anthony. Can you tell me about making this book?

I liked writing about Susan B. Anthony because we can stand up for other people. The hardest thing was writing about what Susan B. Anthony did in her life. Making this book helped me remember about the famous people that we were learning about.

I see in your book that you wrote, "It’s unfair that I can’t speak the same language like people" and “I wish I can speak different like people.” Which language would you like to learn how to speak? Why do you want to speak the same language as everyone?

I wish I could help people understand English and Spanish. Some people speak in Spanish and some people speak in English. I want to be able to help other kids who don’t speak English.

What is your favorite thing about learning about Famous Americans through poetry and visual art?

My favorite thing is that we do our poems and people can see what we’re doing. What I like most is reading my poems to share with the class and for them to see if my poem is great!

What do you want to tell all the museum visitors who will see your book?

If you’re learning about famous heroes, you could go back to my book and see what it’s like to be a famous American. 

Join us for the closing reception on May 16th at 6pm during Ogden After Hours! 

[kidsmart20]

Ms. King, KID smART Arts Coach  & Arts Literacy NOLA students

Why is it important to read at grade level by the end of the 3rd grade?

From Kindergarten to 3rd grade, you are learning to read. From 4th grade on, you are reading to learn. Students who struggle to read by 4th grade are at risk of falling further and further behind.

We are currently in our pilot year of the Arts Literacy NOLA program at Langston Hughes Academy, where I am the KID smART artist in residency. In K-3rd grade classrooms, we use theatre strategies to engage students in a deeper understanding of literary texts. I thought I’d let my students speak on behalf of the program:

Carleton: “Well, we were in the class, I was the sun I raised up as far as I can. And the sun is really important. When it’s morning time, you get up and go to school.” 

Alfred: “What I like about KID smART is when you helped us act it out. Instead of just letting us do it and go about our business, instead you helped us and let us know and made us understand.”

John: “I like when I become animals and when we read books and when we do the songs and continents.”

Experimenting with books in these ways gives students the feeling of being an explorer or a detective. When comprehension comes, it’s like a treasure has been unearthed that was exciting to dig up! 

Step inside Arts Literacy classrooms here: kidsmartnola.tumblr.com/tagged/artslit

[kidsmart20]

Andrea Panzeca KID smART Teaching Artist

I am a lifelong learner. KID smART not only provides opportunities for New Orleans artists to teach through our art, but it also provides opportunities to learn.

My mom is a teacher, and I used to help her color, cut out, and assemble art materials, which are techniques I now teach to Pre-K to 8th graders at Hynes Charter School.

While in school, I would bring in songs that I thought related to the books we were reading: “Petroleum Distillation” by Fifteen reminded me of Walden, and “What a Piece of Work Is Man” from Hair didn’t just remind me of Hamlet, its lyrics come directly from the play. I was also drawn to math. My geometry textbook featured MC Escher paintings and Alice in Wonderland quotes.

In college, I started out as a math major and switched to education before landing on creative writing. I minored in art: ceramics and sculpture: wood and metal. I took dance classes each semester: modern and jazz. Then in 2015, I graduated with an MFA in writing from UNO.

When I was accepted to KID smART’s New Orleans Teaching Artist Institute in 2015, it began the next phase in my education. Through KID smART, I continue to receive hands-on training led by nationally renowned presenters, including: • Teaching Animation in the Classroom with Jessie Currel • Lines and Shapes: Integrating Visual Art & Geometry with Jamin Carter • Reaching Students with Autism Through the Arts with Ryan Hourigan • Planning Effective Residencies for Students and Lesson Design Seminar with Sean Layne • Puppet City Workshop with Karen Konnerth • Building Understanding with Primary Sources with Rhonda Bondie • Come Sunday: A Teacher's Guide to Integrating the Traditions of Congo Square In Class with Freddi Williams Evans

One of my favorite things in life is recognizing connections—how seemingly disparate things relate. Working with KID smART, whether teaching or learning (often both simultaneously), I get to put each of my artistic and academic interests into action.

[kidsmart20]

Michelle Coffey, Lambent Foundation KID smART Funder

Working at the intersection of the arts and social justice, the Lambent Foundation believes in breaking down the barriers that often exclude local communities from the arts and art-making as audiences, as subjects, and as creators.

KID smART’s values — Creativity; Access & Equity; Collaboration — resonate deeply with us. Like KID smART, we are passionate about creativity and equity, and we celebrate KID smART’s commitment to innovative metrics that hold them to the highest standards while promoting creative and critical thinking over rote memorization. As an organization that recognizes the importance of taking risks and embracing ambiguity, we honor KID smART’s remarkable ability to operate with excellence inside the New Orleans public school system, whose needs and demands might dim the passions of a less adaptable, resourceful, and innovative organization.

KID smART’s teaching artist institute, a learning community that trains artists of color and locally-born artists to share their skills and wisdom with children in schools, might be the best expression of our mutual values. Aptly named “Homegrown,” the teaching institute was created so that students could learn from and with teaching artists who share their racial and cultural backgrounds, while simultaneously addressing structural gaps in access to training and employment opportunities.

Homegrown honors the art and artistic practices forged from the struggles of communities so central to the legendary culture of New Orleans. It empowers the children of New Orleans to be nurtured by — and in turn to nurture — those practices. It creates a path and builds capacity for artists indigenous to New Orleans to make a living and directly engage in public education reform.

Devoted to the vibrant legacies of art and struggle that shape the culture of New Orleans, we see infinite value in empowering working artists to bring creativity, imagination and beauty into the classroom and teach the youth of New Orleans to value, contribute to, and re-claim Culture as theirs.

[kidsmart20]

Ron Gubitz, Turnaround Arts National Leadership Coach

As former principal at ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy, we were incredibly lucky to be selected by President Obama's Committee on the Arts and Humanities as one of eight pilot Turnaround Arts schools.  We were given training and support in arts integration, paired with Alfre Woodard who mentored and supported our school and students, and began the challenging but important work of leveraging the Arts in many areas of our school.

Once the press release hit the newspapers, I received an email from Elise and Echo asking to meet up. Having never heard of KID smART, I was curious and took the meeting. We quickly hit it off. I was astonished by the level of arts integrated coaching and support they could provide my school while working within our budget.

KID smART paired Bonnie Gabel, an experienced teaching artist and coach, with our school. She led whole-staff professional development sessions and co-planned, co-taught, and co-led arts integrated, standards-aligned instruction with a cohort of my teachers. My teachers LOVED working with Bonnie and embraced new strategies and ways of teaching that made such a positive impact for our students in both engagement and academic growth. In many ways, the work Bonnie did supporting our school was the key piece that really brought the ideals and dreams of the Turnaround Arts program to life in our classrooms.

KID smART was a key partner in helping our students engage in a real, meaningful, academically enriching way while providing an identity and morale boost for our staff. Now, as I work as a national leadership coach for Turnaround Arts, I've had the opportunity to learn from and work with dozens of arts integration organizations. I truly believe KID smART is a first-in-class partner making this important work happen in schools.

[kidsmart20]

Echo Olander KID smART Founding Director

Junkanoo meets Mardi Gras! 

Any subject is a rich field of discovery while learning through arts integration. Early in KID smART’s days of programming, the students of Fischer School in New Orleans learned about Junkanoo, the annual carnival celebration in the Bahamas. Students compared and contrasted the cultural traditions of Junkanoo with their own Mardi Gras traditions, including costuming practices and the music played by marching krewes. 

In celebration of that joyful exploration, we wanted to share a lesson plan for creating a Junkanoo hat. For extra credit, this activity doubles as a hands-on geometry lesson. Your hat can become a Dr. Seuss hat, Lincoln’s top hat, formal hats for a tea party – the only limit is your imagination!

Materials:

2 pieces of 9” x 12” construction or poster board paper

Tissue fringe garland

1 piece poster board paper 

Tape

Glue

Pencil 

Scissors  

Instructions: Glue two pieces of paper together along the shorter ends. Wrap the new long piece of paper around the head of the wearer creating a cylinder and mark the paper to size. Cut paper, leaving room to glue ends together. Use clothespins, tape, or staples to hold the paper together while the glue dries. 

Place the cylinder on a sheet of poster board paper. Trace the outline two times. On the first outline, trace an additional larger circle around the first one, the width you would like the brim of the hat to be. On the second circle, trace a 1” larger circle around it. Cut both circles out on the largest edge. 

In the larger circle, trace and cut four lines in the shape of a pie within the interior circle. Fold back your pie pieces and place your cylinder on top. Tape the pie piece shapes to the inside

The second circle is the top of the hat. Cut tabs around the outside edges. Fold tabs down and insert into the top of the cylinder. Top of hat may be taped from the inside or the outside to secure.

Decorate the hat with fringed crepe paper, or if making a Dr. Seuss hat, with strips of red paper. See the picture above to see how interesting paper can make the hat.  Have fun! 

For more information on Junkanoo, visit www.bahamas.com/junkanoo

[kidsmart20]

Hope Lee Loughran, Hynes Charter School KID smART Collaborating Teacher, 2014-present

When thinking about KID smART, I am reminded of the famous quote by Pablo Picasso, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he [she] grows up.”

Art has always been a part of my world. I was a hat maker, a face painter, a costume sewer, and glitter-aficionado. As a teacher, I incorporated movement, art, and music in my lessons. However, after adopting the new State Standards, my primary goal was to see students succeed academically in math and reading. I began to feel as though I didn’t have the time to plan or execute art activities. It was around that time that I attended my first information session on KID smART.  I cannot express just how mind-blowing this session was for me. It was as if the sparkly, rose-colored glasses were placed back on my face. This session was the boost of creativity and ah-ha moment that I needed.

I asked to be part of KID smART’s Arts Experiences in Schools (AXIS) program, where I joined coworkers in professional development with artists. With Rhonda Bondie from the Harvard School of Education, I learned to strengthen my students’ relationship between images and text-dependent learning. With Kurt Wootton from the Arts Literacy Project, I learned how to implement the performance cycle - a flexible framework that presents a process as well as core principles of literacy development and arts integration. Tiana Nobile, a KID smART Arts Coach, shared lessons for supporting emotional literacy through the arts. From that, I assessed my job for what I could stop doing, start doing, or do differently to spark behaviors of creativity for my students.

The academic goals that I have for my students still include math and reading. But with the arts linked to my lessons, my students are motivated and excited. My students’ achievement has increased. The joy for the arts transfers to academic success. When they see, think, and wonder, they are developing skills necessary for problem-solving.  Learning how to use art materials and work in a safe studio helps my students develop their own sense of belonging. Looking at paintings and learning about artists has increased my students’ ability to translate abstract concepts into tangible products. Together, and because of KID smART, my students and I collaborate, create artwork, give meaningful feedback to other artists, and reflect on our learning processes.

My experiences with KID smART have better equipped me to teach art throughout my curriculum. In final assessments, my students have acknowledged that they felt inspired and valued as artists. The proof is visible in their increased participation in science, social studies, math, writing, and reading.  To all of the artists and leaders within KID smART, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[kidsmart20]

Deb Brzoska, Kennedy Center National Arts Education Consultant

I first met KID smART at the Kennedy Center where I serve as a national arts education consultant. Echo and Elise were in DC to establish KID smART as the Center's new national partnership site - Louisiana 2005. Unlike many Partners in Education, Elise and Echo had a vision for KID smART that went far beyond a few workshops or field trips. Their eyes were on children, with programs designed to enhance students' social-emotional growth and success in school through joyful learning.

Whenever I visit KID smART in New Orleans, I am continually impressed by the depth and scope of their arts-integrated professional development for teachers and by their highly skilled teaching artists working in schools. Having worked in arts education across the country for more than 20 years, KID smART stands out to me for their investment in classrooms each and every day. I have found no other program that unites classroom teachers with teacher artists as partners in daily learning. These experienced teaching artists coach teachers, many of whom are brand new to the field, providing mentorship and collegial support. The students, of course, benefit the most. They get one more caring adult in their classrooms and in their lives.

KID smART works hard to maintain the depth of their investment in students and their learning. In 2014, they joined The Kennedy Center in establishing a local Community Arts Team to "Ensure the Arts for Any Given Child" in New Orleans. KID smART stays current in the national arts education field through insatiable research and direct connections to Harvard’s Project Zero. Their schools in New Orleans can serve as models for the field of what is possible when classroom teachers and teaching artists partner daily on behalf of children and their learning.

[kidsmart20]

Aminisha Ferdinand / Ms. Ferd KID smART Arts Coach, 2008-2018

When I walked into the KID smART office in August of 2008, I was fresh out of grad school, returning home to New Orleans three years after being forced to leave before Hurricane Katrina. I was making the rounds, dropping off resumes in the hopes of finding a job as an arts educator in my hometown. I walked into a little office where two people were sitting and asked if there was a receptionist who could file my resume. Elise Gallinot, KID smART Program Director then and Executive Director now, sat and talked with me as she looked over my resume. Thus began my journey of development in a space where I was nurtured, challenged, and provided with a myriad of learning opportunities.

The goal was always to impact the children of New Orleans public schools. Yet, I stand as a testimony to the more expansive impact of KID smART and the people behind the curtain.

As an artist, the friendships I developed through KID smART have provided me with life-changing opportunities beyond the classroom. I performed in Tulane Shakespeare Summer Festival through the recommendation of Rachel Carrico, a fellow teaching artist, and told stories on stage through a partnership with Sophie Lucido Johnson, a co-teacher. Even my re-entry into life as a dancer was prompted by a KID smART performance at Osborne school. The student showcase was organized through KID smART Teaching Artist Chris Kamenstein, his co-teacher Rae Bolden, and a partnership with Laura Stein of Dancing Grounds and Kesha McKey of KM Dance Project.  I soon started taking dance classes at Dancing Grounds and now perform professionally with KM Dance Project.  

KID smART has gifted me with training, community, experiential learning, and leadership opportunities that have molded me into the facilitator and educator I am. Over the past decade, I have played the roles of teaching artist, workshop facilitator, arts coach, educator of children across ages and art forms, program manager, program initiator, collaborator in all things, and valuer of input, perspective, and questioning. I am forever grateful for this organization that brings people together to teach and learn through and because of the arts.

[kidsmart20]

Christophe Michaels, Entrepreneur KID smART Alumnus, Class of 1999

Christophe Michaels was among the first students to experience the KID smART program at its inception in 1999. He shared his memories of KID smART and the impact of learning through the arts:

Some of the most prominent memories of my childhood happened at KID smART. I remember going on a nature trail and drawing so many trees. I honestly thought I was a little Bob Ross.

KID smART propelled my self-confidence and creative abilities to the point where I went from speech development class to being labeled gifted. After schooling, I took my creative approach to business development and became an instant success in managing and overhauling stores for a living. And now, I’m working on two business projects in New Orleans: The Artisan's Statement offers hand-crafted bowties and clothing and Loving Me-Hair is a hair extension company focused on spreading self-love. Both of these LLCs infuse the arts into their business models.

KID smART has a long-reaching and lasting effect on the development of self through art. It's a part of my life story. The highest form of love is teaching a child to love themselves, and that's what KID smART continues to do.

[kidsmart20]

Melanie Tennyson, International School of Louisiana Head of School + KID smART Collaborator

KID smART brought Circus Arts to ISL in the aftermath of Katrina and it quickly became an integral part of our school culture. Our multitalented and multilingual Circus Arts Coordinator, Meret Ryhiner, started with us as a KID smART teaching artist. Now, Circus Arts lessons start in Kindergarten and are ingrained throughout each student’s elementary experience. The instruction is multicultural with roots in French, Spanish, and Chinese speaking countries around the world. It brings a sense of confidence and joy that is felt throughout the school. 

As a school leader, I believe ISL has benefited from the KID smART partnership in a variety of ways. The thoughtful selection of the artists in residence and the ongoing professional development offered to teachers has served as a model of how to best support the staff’s ongoing learning. There have been multiple opportunities to meet and learn from experts in various fields of education, in small groups with other school leaders. This has been powerful in shaping my thinking about how children learn. 

KID smART validates and supports my belief that the arts are an essential part of a high-quality education for all levels, from Kindergarten into college. One of our current 8th-grade students, Indyanna Cramer, competed in a Chinese language contest in Texas delivering her speech... on stilts. I think Indyanna is a great example of the way children develop through the arts at ISL. They are not only immersed in their target language but in cultural and artistic experiences. This creates a community of multi-talented, multilingual, multicultural individuals whose experiences allow them to build the confidence needed to share with the world. 

[kidsmart20]

Mia Rotondo, Baby Ben KID smART Collaborating Teacher, 2012-present

As soon as I heard that KID smART was partnering with our school in 2012, I signed up without a second thought. It was fairly apparent that the arts weren’t being prioritized in the school climate so I was really hungry to build up my ability to truly integrate arts into my teaching.  

KID smART teaching artist Sophie Lucido Johnson piloted an arts-integrated emotional literacy curriculum called WITH FEELING at my school. I was confident that these social-emotional, collaborative lessons would be a perfect fit for my kiddos.  Sophie and WITH FEELING helped our small-but-mighty class of six students build our classroom community and move our learning forward.  

Teaching with KID smART artists gave me the tools to improvise and build my own lessons to grow social-emotional and academic skills in my classroom. From emotional roller-coaster construction to self-portraits - we were doing it all!  My all-time favorite was using the Elephant and Piggie books to explore feelings. We noticed how feelings sometimes look on our faces and feel like in our bodies, and then we connected feelings with colors to express ourselves. My students were so proud of their finished books starring THEM and highlighting THEIR feelings! It was a great experience all around.

Our final project together was self-portraits and, though it was over 4 years ago, those portraits are still hanging in my house and making me smile every day! Since then, I’ve partnered with multiple amazing KID smART teaching artists and even facilitated my own professional development workshop around reaching and teaching neurodivergent students through arts integration-- and you better believe that arts integration is part of my lessons EVERY DAY! It has changed the way I teach and I’m so thankful for it!

Funding for WITH FEELING was provided by the Institute of Mental Hygiene.

[kidsmart20]

Creation of KID smART

Campbell Hutchinson & Allison Stewart KID smART Co-Founders

In June of 1998, Allison and I attended a conference in Colorado, dealing with the subject of the status of the arts at the millennium.  We heard speaker after speaker talk about the decline in public/government support of the arts, the cutting of funds for art programs, and the elimination of art programs in public schools.  Allison and I were, and remain, firmly convinced that instruction in the arts not only improves a child’s quality of life, but also enhances his or her skills and learning ability in other areas.  We both love children, visual arts, and our city of New Orleans.  Putting all of this together, we decided we would do something to improve the education of children in New Orleans through the arts.

Throughout 1998, we sought the advice of people who worked with disadvantaged children in the arts, which led to forming an advisory board of experienced educators and artists.  We then put together a diverse board of directors, men and women with people skills and art skills and enthusiasm.  We hired a managing director, Echo Olander, who had fifteen years of experience in administering art programs.

We knew that the key to success was hiring the right teaching artists.  We hired Nikki Jackson, a native of England with years of experience teaching art. Then Kojo Nkrumah, who came to New Orleans from Accra, Ghana, and taught in various art programs while pursuing his Masters in Arts Administration. Then came Takako Kawamura from Japan who taught art in a local public high school.  Finally, Kimberly Dummons, an African American sculptor who was getting her Masters of Fine Art at the University of New Orleans.  We had our team--energetic, bright, creative people who shared our views about reaching kids through art.

Our pilot program started in the Fall of 1999. We accepted more than 20 third to fifth-grade students at Fischer Elementary School, one of Orleans Parish’s most disadvantaged public schools at the time. When I walked into the first class at Fischer, I almost cried.  There were two tables of bright and energetic children and behind them were their products of the day--colorful drawings of their homes, their friends and their families. As I listened to Nikki talking to the children, I realized that our program is so much more than instruction in the visual arts.  These kids would be learning to respect nature and each other, to share with each other and work together; so many life skills that will enhance their futures.

At the end of the first session, Nikki pointed to each child and called him or her by name.  You could see their faces brighten--this new lady knew who they were and cared about them.  To succeed with our program, we must first make the children feel special and help them learn to respect themselves.  

Thereafter, classes met on Saturday mornings at a wilderness park in the Audubon Institute’s Center for Endangered Species, located in a remarkably remote site in lower New Orleans adjacent to the Mississippi River. Our pilot program included not only the visual arts but an indoctrination to nature and the wilderness, which they had never experienced. After a successful pilot program, we began expanding our program to new schools and other art forms.

At the time, I wondered whether we would have an effect on the lives of these students.  One of them, ten of them, all of them?  How long would it take to have an effect?

Now, 20 years later, KID smART has worked with more than 30,000 students and 5,000 teachers in 40+ New Orleans public schools. We hire teaching artists specializing in drama, music, dance, poetry, media, and visual arts. Year after year, our assessment tools show significant growth in social-emotional, academic, and artistic skills. Never would I have believed our modest program would turn out to be what it is today.

KID smART was designed to motivate students, teach them to focus on their work, inspire creativity, and most important, to help them believe in themselves. I’ll let our students speak to that:

“Art helps you express your feelings and KID smART helps you do that while you learn.” -8th grader

“KID smART is fun, creative, and sometimes a lifesaver.” -7th grader

“When things get hard, KID smART makes learning easier and fun.” -5th grader