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Montgomery school lauded for focusing on art
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Montgomery County (Map, News) - A Montgomery County elementary school that puts an artistic spin on its daily curriculum is one of five schools nationally that won an award for integrated arts education.
Kensington Parkwood Elementary School earned a Creative Ticket National Schools of Distinction Award for its success in integrating the arts into everything from the classroom to the community.
“Teachers and students seek to make natural connections between the arts, other curricular subjects and real life,” said Mary Whalen, an arts integration teacher at the school.
Kensington Parkwood became an arts-integration school five years ago through a three-year arts in education grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Each quarter, the school has teachers determine how the arts can be integrated into each subject in the Montgomery County Public Schools curriculum.
The program extends throughout the entire school, from kindergarten students who use their bodies to create letter shapes and master the alphabet, to fifth-grade students who learn about geometry through artist Wassily Kandinsky’s geometric points.
“Every single one of our staff integrates art into the curriculum on a daily basis,” Principal Barbara Leiss said. “This is a whole-school initiative.”
