Spring 2022 Newsletter
INSTRUCTORS TRAINED: 1,250 KIDS REACHED: 20,099
WELCOME TO OUR NEW PARTNER SITES: Fletcher Drive STEAM Magnet School, Los Angeles, CA; Sheppard Pratt, Baltimore, MD; Children’s Aid Wagon Road Summer Camp, Chappaqua, NY
Thanks to our supporters, we’ve hit an exciting milestone of reaching over 20,000 kids. Learn with Creative Confidence, our whole-school and after-school program, continues to build momentum. Our program puts a strong emphasis on building students’ belief ecology, or intrapersonal skills, which is overlooked in many traditional SEL programs used in schools. Building students’ self-efficacy and openness, and encouraging a growth mindset among students has never been so important!
Countdown to summer vacation! For the second year in a row, NYC is offering high-quality summer programming to all students. Once again, several of these schools will be “Learning with Creative Confidence”! We couldn’t be more excited to help students build their creative confidence and skills with our 10 character-building words (aka, the 10 Principles!). Our LwCC curriculum provides book lists, hands-on STEAM activities, and Principle-specific lessons so students will be fully immersed in the Choose Creativity experience. Stay tuned for photos and stories of creativity from Summer of ‘22.
W e were honored to deliver a workshop to the parents and caregivers of NYC’s District 75, which provides highly specialized instructional support for students with significant developmental challenges. We began the workshop with this quote by Helen Keller — “What I am looking for is not out there. It is in me.” This is a great example of how we encourage parents to incorporate and take ownership of the 10 Principles of Creativity. Reinforcing the importance of being resourceful, intuitive, and unconventional really helps build a parents’ creative confidence! Reach out if you are interested in bringing a parent workshop to your school.
Meredith McNerney, former principal from West Maryland, joins our team as PD Facilitator. Meredith’s passion is strengthening strategic partnerships with community agencies and nonprofits. She believes that an integrated model between community and school increases access to services for students by providing culturally sensitive prevention and early intervention-oriented services. She advocates for programs to support social-emotional learning, behavior, and academic motivation for students through a safe, accessible environment. Meredith was recently awarded The Superintendent’s Administrative Award for Excellence and Equity based on academic growth and achievement among English Learners (ELs) at Gaithersburg Elementary. Meredith believes in the Choose Creativity Curriculum. Based on her experience, she knows staff and students will benefit deeply from the mantras, lessons, and activities to empower all learners to see the possibility in every moment!
