145 Konawaena High School students practiced personal expression, acceptance, and respect through artist residency program
Excerpt from a letter included in the end of year report: “. . . Given our location and access, many South Kona students do not have many extended learning and experiential opportunities, whether attending camps and classes of having consistent, meaningful interactions with our incredible community artists. This grant continues to afford our students those extended opportunities. In addition to proving instruction on fine arts standards, it provides/provided classroom teachers with a hands-on mentor to better teach the arts in their curriculum and supports students’ emotional well-being . . . I would like to add that our “artist in the school,” Ellen Crocker, has been an excellent teacher and mentor . . . [she] ensures a focus on social-emotional learning (a primary focus for Konawaena High) by giving students opportunities to practice personal expression, acceptance, and respect. Thank you again to the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the State of Hawaiʻi Legislature, funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the private matching funds from the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation. Konawaena High thanks all of you for selecting us as a recipient. We are hopeful that this incredible partnership will continue into the next school year and into the future! Naʻu no me ka haʻahaʻa, Momi Kaehuaea (Vice Principal, Konawaena High School).”
Learn more about the Artists in the Schools program on the SFCA website: sfca.hawaii.gov/aits.