Full shelves
ART TEACHERS TICKLED PINK BY DONATION
By Sara Greene
Crystal Gordon, an art teacher at Eastside Elementary in Greenbrier, has her art supply closet well-stocked with supplies from the THEA Foundation.
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LITTLE ROCK — Elementary art teachers throughout the River Valley and Ozark area are starting the school year with shelves full of supplies, thanks to a donation from the THEA Foundation and Chesapeake Energy.
North Little Rock’s THEA Foundation and
Chesapeake Energy delivered $25,000 in art
supplies to 26 elementary schools in Cleburne,
Conway, Faulkner, Van Buren and White coun
ties this month. The THEA Foundation is a
nonprofit organization that promotes the arts
in education. This is the second year the founda
tion has donated art supplies to schools as part
of its THEA Art Closet project.
Tressa Keeling has been teaching art at
Cowsert Elementary in Clinton for six years.
“Our school was on fiscal distress, and we have
not had a budget for art supplies. Last year I spent
maybe $80 in art supplies,” Keeling said.
About 640 students a week pass through
Keeling’s art classroom.
“During our open house, I pointed out the
full shelves. It means a lot to us,” Keeling said.
Katrina Walls, who is a second-year art teach
er at Morrilton Elementary, said more than 500
students take art classes.
“Students are always excited about art class.
They have to peek at the tables to see what project
we’re going to do before class starts,” Walls said.
She said the donated art supplies gives stu
dents a chance to work with a variety of art me
diums.
“This is a fabulous opportunity for our stu
dents to use art supplies they might not be able
to use. Usually our budget allows for basic art
supplies, but this has special items like a lot
of different types of paper, self-drying clay so
we won’t have to use a kiln, glitter paints and
broader brushes,” Walls said.
Betty Yarborough teaches art at Westside El
ementary in Greenbrier.
“Art helps students with their creativity and
their left-brain function, which completes the
whole learning package. After they’ve been to
art class, they’re more focused in class,” Yarbor
ough said.
“It is an abundance of art supplies that is
going to touch the lives of more than 900 stu
dents. Some of the items include face paint,
some really neat clay and sidewalk chalk, whichis something the kids just love,” Yarborough said.
The THEA Foundation started in 2001 and emphasizes the importance of the arts in schools through scholarships and other programs, with the philosophy that the arts give students the confidence they need to succeed in other areas of life, like academics.
Paul Leopoulos is executive director of the THEA Foundation, which was named for his late daughter. He said THEA’s Art Closet was started because the art programs he works with across the state often have little to no money budgeted for supplies from their school districts.
“The program started because we were sick and tired of watching our teachers pull money out of their own pockets to buy art supplies when they don’t make that much money in the first place,” Leopoulos said. “And a lot of Arkansas families are poor, so they shouldn’t have to pay for it, either.”
Leopoulos said each school received about $1,000 worth ofart supplies.
“And with art supplies, you’re not talking about reusable resources,” Leopoulos said. “They run out every year. So ultimately it should be a budget thing, not some nonprofit trying to help, but until then we’ll try to help because it’s a chronic problem.”
Last year THEA took in-kind donations for the Art Closet, but that process turned out to be overwhelmingly labor intensive, Leopoulos said. So this year, they decided to focus their efforts on getting monetary donations, although they will still accept in-kind donations. Chesapeake Energy, which is a natural gas exploration company, donated the funds for this year’s delivery.
The THEA Foundation’s next project is THEA Paves the Way, from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 13, at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock. Teams of students are invited to color the sidewalk in front of the library with sidewalk chalk.
More information about the THEA Foundation is available online at www.theafoundation.org or by calling (501) 379-9512.
(Staff writer Amy Widner contributed to this story.)
This article was published Sunday, August 24, 2008.
River Valley Ozark, Pages 146, 159 on 08/24/2008
