North Charleston Creative Arts is helping all students develop the world class skills and life and career characteristics of the “Profile of the South Carolina Graduate” by providing world class knowledge instruction of the state standards through the integration of the arts. By embodying both academically-rich and art integrated creative disciplines, we ensure a truly unique educational experience that nurtures creativity. World class knowledge skills are developed through the access to our varied arts performance experiences, and our implementation of arts-integration through theme-based planning in the academic areas of Science and Social Studies. Through the integration of the arts and the methods of instructing in this manner, we believe in fostering and encouraging creativity while exposing students to varied means for understanding whether that be through movement or creation in varied mediums, such as the visual arts, music or dance. North Charleston Creative Arts Elementary School (NCCAE), a Title I School, is a partial magnet school for students in the north area of Charleston, in District 4. Our teachers are always seeking to learn new and effective strategies to use in the classroom, while integrating the arts within the academic setting, in order to promote meaningful learning.
During the school year 2018-2019, the faculty and staff at NCCAE continued the push for the integration of the arts, and the development of the arts integration through monthly collaborative “Skills Build” professional developments. Collaboration between staff members occurs in order to plan for and to implement these “in-house” professional development opportunities. Prescribed integration planning and collaboration occurs at the beginning of the school year and then persists through shared lesson planning and instruction execution through the arts, within the academic setting, as well as the academic arts setting. NCCAE teachers, students and staff supported the creative arts vision by continuing to implement and refine our “Vision Nights”. The Vision Night concept is exclusive to NCCAE and is an event where grade level teachers and academic arts teachers collaborate in order to demonstrate the arts-integration concept to our community members. Families and stakeholders attend these scheduled events where students showcase their learning across the academic and arts curriculum. These Vision Nights allow us to consistently communicate our focus on student learning, which supports the “Profile of the South Carolina Graduate”.
All NCCAE students actively participate in Visual Arts, Music, Physical Education, Drama, and Dance. Students have opportunities to attend classes in the areas of Suzuki Violin Strings/Orchestra, Computer Lab, and Media Center, as well. Additionally, our 4th and 5th grade students have opportunities to focus on arts areas, by way of our clubs that occur twice a week. North Charleston Creative Arts’ school, parents, and community family collaborate to help support our vision of “NCCAE: Where the Arts and Academics Meet”. Each week, school and community collaboration when volunteers come together to assist with putting together Wednesday folders for each child. We have reading and lunch buddies through our partnership with “Be a Mentor” that allow for student/mentor interaction. Our community partnerships continue to develop with the support of the community and area businesses and churches. NCCAE just completed its third year as an ABC Site. This, in addition to receiving the DAP (Distinguished Arts Program) grant, has further established NCCAE as a top creative arts school in South Carolina by providing the academic arts and classroom teachers with basic art supplies and professional development to support the arts-integrated curriculum. Our partnership with Engaging Creative Minds has helped provide students with six artist-in-residencies in grades 3-5, this year alone.
At NCCAE, we believe the school, family, and community must share the educational responsibility of our students. Thank you for all of your support in helping in the development of our future South Carolina graduates and world leaders.
Eric Hansen, Principal
Shaketa Walker, SIC Chair
