Thursday, Winona Separate School District Superintendent Dr. Randy Poss and Winona Elementary School Principal Paul Lawrence announced that Winona Elementary School was nominated for a John F. Kennedy Center Honor for arts education. The school was nominated by the Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education after being awarded the School of Excellence for Arts Education last year.
According to Dr. Charlotte Tabereaux, executive director of the MAAE and the Executive Director of the Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education in Performing Arts in Meridian, Winona Elementary School was selected as the statewide winner for arts education from a pool of nominations from across the state.
"It is unique in the state to see a school or district attempt to bring the arts to their kids without the kind of support or money to hire many teachers and pull off what they did," Tabereaux said. "Winona's success comes from the talents of the people involved with the program."
Tabereaux said most schools with successful arts programs are funded through grant moneys or corporate donations, but Winona's program was done without that funding.
"[The program's success] was based on the passion, dedication, and talent of some of the people working [for the school] especially Patti Finley [Winona Elementary School music teacher]."
Tabereaux went on to complement Finley and the performing arts and music program she established at the school.
"I just can't say enough about how there has to be a catalyst to make something like this happen," she said. "Patti has definitely been the spark and the fire behind it."
The award recognizes schools that have done an outstanding job of making the arts an essential part of the education of their students. Each school will receive a cash award to support their arts education program. The awards program is an initiative of the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network (KCAAEN), a coalition of 44 statewide, non-profit organizations that work with the Kennedy Center to ensure that the arts are an integral part of American education.
Finley said, "This has been a dream come true for me personally but also for our students and our community. I think our school system has a lot to offer, and this is just another means to get people to stop and take notice."
Finley went on to say that Mississippi has not won a Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education award since 1987.
"I truly feel it is our time to shine again," Finley said.
Tabereaux said she thinks the Kennedy Center will be impressed with Winona Elementary School's art program because it was done without a large budget and corporate support.
"By not having a huge budget and corporate support, it will make [Winona Elementary School] stand out as a stellar school."
Tabereaux said that Mississippi is highly respected by the Kennedy Center because they continue to see remarkable accomplishments like that at Winona Elementary School.
"They are very fascinated at what we are attempting to do here," she said.
State Senator Lydia Chassaniol (R-Winona), an outspoken proponent for the school's arts program, said the nomination is "the Super Bowl of arts education."
"It is so huge that these little kids can create something so wonderful and are being honored with an award like this. This program has my full support."
According to the website, the KCAAEN brings together educators, school administrators, parents, cultural leaders, and citizens from across the nation, reaching more than three million people each year. The winners of the award will be selected from a number of schools identified by their state Alliance for Arts Education as Creative Ticket Schools of Excellence. Selection criteria at the national level included a review of the ways in which arts education is an essential component of the school curriculum; how the program creates and uses imaginative learning environments for teaching and learning in, through and about the arts; how the arts program provides opportunities for parental involvement in education; how the program provides opportunities for learning about other cultures through the arts; and how the program links arts education to community cultural resources.
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