ART START
EXPERIENCING THE CURRICULUM THROUGH THE ARTSArt In The Classroom Matters
For students who learn…
best visually, aurally or physically, hands-on art and music projects help them shine in the classroom.
Creating art helps kids…
make new connections between ideas and realize that there are multiple solutions to problems.
Expressing ideas through art…
awakens the creative spirit and opens students’ eyes to deeper meaning in their work.
An understanding of history…
helps students express themselves through dance, learn geometry creating mosaics and explore the solar system using sculpture.
IMAGINING, CREATING, CONNECTING!
IMAGINING HISTORY THROUGH A PEACEMAKER MOSAIC
CREATING HAND-BOUND BOOKS OF WEATHER WATER COLORS AND POEMS
CONNECTING THROUGH AN AFRICAN DRUMMING CIRCLE
These are just some of the hands-on experiences District 97 students have through the Art Start program. Professional sculptors, painters, dancers, musicians and storytellers collaborate with teachers and kids in Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade. Their projects deepen every child’s experience of the curriculum through the arts.
Art in the classroom matters. It gives children wider vocabulary.
It introduces new perspectives, helps develop problem-solving skills and creates new opportunities for children to excel in school. As one first grader said, “It’s good to try new things because you never know what you’ll like.”
Our artists also conduct special projects each year with 3rd-8th grade students. Over the last 17 years, more than 13,000 District 97 children have participated in Art Start.
ART START:
- gives children wider vocabulary
- introduces new perspectives
- creates new opportunities for children to excel in school
District 97 Teacher
“These are learning opportunities that children run home to tell their parents about.”
District 97 Teacher
“There is nothing else like it, community artists helping community kids, sharing their knowledge, expertise, and passion.”
Art Start Artist
“I tell both classroom teachers and other artists about this great opportunity to collaborate, use art across the academic and social/emotional curriculum and it is FUN!”
District 97 Teacher
“Some of my students were able to express themselves in a very different way than I had seen previously in the classroom. After a few lessons in body awareness, our classroom activities began incorporating our movement from Art Start.”
Art Start News
Creative Collaboration With Spoken Word
Brooks Middle School 7th graders are being encouraged to write poems about what’s important to them in their daily lives. Spoken Word teaching artist Mo Santiago, one of our latest Oak Park Education Foundation additions to the team, led last week's class...
New Mosaics Grace D97 Walls
NEW MOSAICS GRACE THE WALLS OUTSIDE FOUR D97 SCHOOLS It's always inspiring to see creative ideas burst into fruition for all to enjoy. This school year you will find original mosaics by renown artist Tracy Van Duinen gracing prominent exterior walls of...
Teacher Spotlight: Guillermo Delgado
Folk Art fun with BASE Camp's Guillermo Delgado Guillermo Delgado is the kind of OPEF instructor that makes campers feel instantly at ease. When visiting his BASE Camp Folk Art classroom, Delgado had familiar classical soundtracks from top movies like...
“WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU”
$500 funds a field trip for 100 students to a dance performance, play or artist studio.
Joel Javier
ART START COORDINATOR
Joel Javier earned his MA in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and BFA from Murray State University. Jill took on leadership of the Spoken Word program in 2019. Joel has experience teaching in museum & community art settings and has been instrumental in expanding public programming and advancing award-winning fellowship programs. An Oak Parker and D97 parent, Joel can be spotted riding his bike through town or making abstract, mixed media paintings that occasionally make their way into exhibitions and collections.