A longtime partnership between Sarasota’s Wilkinson Elementary and Ringling College of Art and Design’s Sullivan YEA! (Youth Experiencing Art) Program has earned the grade school a certificate of excellence from the National Institute of STEM Education (NISE). Wilkinson is currently the only public school in Florida to have earned this recognition. School officials formally thanked the College as a community partner at a celebration ceremony earlier this year.
The Sullivan YEA! Program pairs volunteer Ringling students with classroom teachers to integrate art into the classroom. While the NISE officially recognizes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) educators, the Ringling College partnership incorporates art into those concepts to create STEAM projects. In order to achieve the NISE certification, Wilkinson staff underwent a yearlong review process and had to reach a number of indicators provided by the organization.
“Through our partnership over the years, we have done murals, illustration, puppetry, film, writing, and more,” said Wilkinson teacher Tessa Healy, who helps to coordinate the partnership with the College. “Walking through our campus, there is not a single building that has been untouched by YEA! We have many STEAM-themed murals, a sensory pathway, and a native bird mural, and we have strengthened our partnership with Everglades Literacy by combining instruction about the Everglades and art through YEA! Projects.”
The Ringling students typically visit the school once a week, allowing the kids to rotate through semester-long or even year-long projects.
“We have made short films and commercials with the film students and used illustration to deepen students’ understanding about plants growing in our school gardens,” added Healy. “Through this project, kindergarten and first-grade students learned about a plant and then sketched it with the help of our Ringling students. Each year, these sketches are turned into ‘field guides’ that the students can take home with them.”
In addition to the schoolwide NISE certification, 10 Wilkinson instructors have earned individual certifications as STEM teachers and another five are currently working toward that honor.
“The students love having the Ringling students on campus,” said Healy. “They view it as a break from their day-to-day routines, but little do they know that they are deepening their learning with each visit!”
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