News

Dana wins another national award

Kelly Schofield, Dana principal.

By Bill Moss, Published: November 12, 2013

Kelly Schofield, principal of Dana Elementary, is one of 20 elementary and middle school principals from across the nation selected by Crayola and the National Association of Elementary School Principals to receive a "Champion Creatively Alive Children" school grant.

Crayola and NAESP chose 20 schools to receive the grants, which will fund innovative programs aimed at fostering children's critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication skills.
The Champion Creatively Alive Children grants are intended to help principals explore new ways to nurture children's creativity and inspire other principals to do the same. Each school received a $2,500 monetary grant and $1,000 worth of Crayola products. Recipients will share outcomes from their programs via NAESP's website in order to help other principals develop promising practices related to arts education.
"Our project is titled, 'Connecting to a Displaced Community's Art, Culture, and History,'" Schofield said. "While researching projects that would provide both a reading and social studies component, as well as a large scale permanent art installation, our creative team learned the history of Gee's Bend Quilters, a community of slaves who were displaced and forced to walk from North Carolina to Alabama.

"We knew this was a story that needed to enfold our students in learning about injustice, journey and resilience, while honoring the art form that has been sustained by generations of aesthetically gifted quilters. We are using this compelling and relevant piece of history as the foundation for student cross-­curricular, in-­depth exploration."
"Crayola believes that for students today to reach their full potential and grow into self-­motivated learners, their imaginations must be nurtured. We believe these children are empowered by the educators who ignite their abilities to bring new ideas to life," said Mike Perry, Crayola president and chief executive officer.

Dana has won recognition from national school improvement programs before.

"Patterns of Innovation: The 21st Century Learning Exemplar Program" chose Dana and 24 other schools in the nation for their innovation.Dana was one of six schools to represent North Carolina as a National Title I Distinguished School for Sustained Student Achievement and was one of six schools across the country to win a National School Change Award. Schofield was the 2012-13 principal of the year in Henderson County.