Crayola Now Accepting Applications for Champion Creatively Alive Children® Grant Program

Eighth annual grant program aims to inspire educators to increase art-infused education, creative capacity and design thinking throughout their school communities

News provided by

Crayola

Dec 01, 2016, 07:07 ET

EASTON, Pa., Dec. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS:

Up to 20 grants to be awarded to elementary and middle schools in the United States and Canada
Each grant-winning school to receive $2,500 and Crayola products valued at $1,000
Applications are due by 12:00 a.m. ET on Friday, June 23, 2017
Every early bird application submitted before midnight on Monday, June 5, 2017 will receive a Crayola product Classpack®

Crayola announced today the opening of its eighth annual Champion Creatively Alive Children® grant program, an initiative that focuses on helping educators increase art-infused education, creativity and design thinking through varied professional development practices and cross-curricular planning, tailored to their specific school needs and goals. In collaboration with the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), Crayola will offer up to 20 grants within elementary and middle schools in the United States and Canada for the 2017-2018 school year. Each award includes a $2,500 grant and $1,000 worth of Crayola products.

"Creativity is a 21^st century skill essential for college and career-readiness," said Cheri Sterman, director of education for Crayola and executive board member of the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21). "It's what helps us take learned knowledge and other key skills and use them to solve complex problems and implement new ideas. This grant program is intended to identify exemplary art-infused programs from schools that are building creative capacity school-wide and share their inspirational stories in ways that can help other schools implement innovative teaching strategies. In doing so, educators are helping more students to find their voice and develop many of the valuable skills necessary to succeed in today's fast-changing 21st century."

According to recent research conducted by Crayola, 93 percent of classroom teachers believe that art integration has a high impact on building students' creative skills and that 90 percent of principals report that art integration increases student engagement and learning across all subject areas. The same report also revealed that more creative experiences happen in schools where the principal articulates creativity as a priority to teachers, includes creativity in the school vision statement, and supports teachers to build their creative capacity.

The Champion Creatively Alive Children® grant program makes these outcomes possible. Since 2011, more than 100 grant winning schools have formed creative leadership teams – colleagues who serve as creative coaches, building teachers' creative confidence. Together, they have successfully initiated their innovative professional development ideas to fulfill a long-term commitment to help spread educators' creative capacity and the increase of art-infused education throughout their school communities.

The grant program application period officially starts today and is open until 12:00 a.m. ET on Friday, June 23, 2017. Only applications submitted by principals who are members of NAESP and intend on renewing membership for the 2017– 2018 school year will be considered. Grant winners will be announced by Oct. 16, 2017. Each year, Crayola and NAESP showcase the most exemplary art-infused school grant winners from the prior year to tell their inspirational stories and their promising practices.

Ready to get started on your Champion Creatively Alive Children® grant application? Past grant winners, the application form and full submission guidelines are available at www.crayola.com/for-educators/ccac-landing/grant-program.

About Crayola

Crayola is the worldwide leader in creative expression, offering innovative training programs and products to create everything imaginable. Crayola partners with educators to "bring colorful wings to the invisible things that live in the hearts and minds of children." The company provides educators with resources and professional development to increase creative capacity school-wide. Serving as advocates for increased art-infused education, our products and programs help children acquire critical 21st century skills. For more information, visit www.crayola.com/educator.

About NAESP

Principals are the primary catalysts for creating lasting foundations for learning. Since 1921, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) has been the leading advocate for elementary and middle level principals in the United States and worldwide. NAESP advances the profession by developing policy, advancing advocacy and providing professional development and resources for instructional leadership, including specialized support and mentoring for early career principals. Key focus areas include pre-K-3 education, school safety, technology and digital learning, and effective educator evaluation. For more information about NAESP, please visit www.naesp.org. NAESP administers the National Principals Resource Center, the American Student Council Association, and the President's Education Awards & American Citizenship Awards Programs.

SOURCE Crayola