Visual Artists Attend National Art Educators Convention

Through a generous grant given by the Carlisle Education Foundation (CEF), the visual art department was able to attend the 2015 National Art Educators Convention in New Orleans, LA. The topic of this year’s convention was “The Art of Design: Form, Function, and the Future of Visual Arts Education”. Courtney Longaker and Rachel Levy attended the convention’s numerous guest speakers, lectures and hands-on workshops, and took away many new and innovative ideas highlighting the intrinsic connection between art and design.
Integration of design thinking in the art room engages the student in problem solving and collaboration. It encourages the student to observe, develop and envision, express and explore, persist, revise and reflect.

IMG_1630_cropWhen the teacher creates lessons that develop these skills the art student can gain confidence and will be less afraid of failing. The design process enables students to embrace opportunities to learn from mistakes and accidents. These skills also help the student to focus, commit and follow through with an idea.

In the fall, Levy and Longaker will teach, “Developing 21st Century Critical Thinking Skills and Problem Solving Strategies Through Visual Art”, extending and connecting their knowledge of design thinking to other faculty and subject areas. – Submitted by Courtney Longaker

Over $19K Awarded in Professional Development Grants this Fall

CEF is pleased to report that we have awarded just over $19,000 in professional development funds to our teachers to attend conferences and workshops as a result of our Fall grant cycle. CEF funded 8 of the 9 applications received and, through your continued generosity, the following teachers will be taking advantage of many special opportunities over next few months:

  • First grade teachers Amanda Gilchrist & Jennifer Demers will attend the Teachers College Summer Reading Institute in New York City
  • The middle school science team will attend the National Science Teachers Association 2015 National Conference in Chicago
  • Sixth grade Social Studies teacher Erin Rooney will attend the National Conference of Social Studies in Boston
  • Tara Callahan will attend the American Choral Directors Association National Conference in Salt Lake City, UT to support 11 of her students accepted by audition into this prestigious program
  • Art Teachers Courtney Longaker & Rachel Levy will attend the National Art Educators Association Convention in New Orleans, LA
  • Four teachers (1 teacher and special educator from each Grades 3 and 4) will be trained in the Leveled Literacy Intervention System
  • Five elementary teachers, the math specialist and the superintendent will attend the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Conference in Boston next spring
  • Kristy Hartono will attend a Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages Conference in Toronto, Ontario

Teachers who receive CEF awards are asked to share their experiences, goals and results with other teachers upon completion of their project. We look forward to learning about their experiences and how they will apply their results into their daily teaching methods.

The Carlisle Education Foundation has raised well over $1 million dollars for Carlisle Public Schools since its inception. Please look for our annual appeal in mailboxes this December and consider a tax-deductible gift to help us sustain our mission to advance innovation in the classroom, promote excellence in teaching, and enable superior learning opportunities for students and educators in the Carlisle Public School community.

Congratulations to all! The Spring CEF grant cycle takes place in March 2015. Please check the grants section of our website for forms and instructions.