Labelle Elementary School In Marietta Gets New School Art Award

MARIETTA, GA — Labelle Elementary School in Cobb County is being recognized as one of five schools to win a new creative arts award. The Georgia Department of Education has created a new Creative School Arts Integration School of Excellence Award.

The purpose of the Creative Schools arts Integration School of Excellence award is to promote arts integration as a way to increase engagement and learning in and out of the arts classroom, according to the department of education.

LaBelle Elementary School
Arts integration is the foundation for engagement and critical thinking development at LaBelle Elementary.

In addition to art-integrated core content, all students at LaBelle have extracurricular art-infused opportunities. SmART Clubs allow students to explore personal interests such as origami, puppet-making/theater, keyboard, and photography. Every staff member supports this initiative by sponsoring or cosponsoring a club, and meetings are supported by an early release schedule several times each semester so that all students can participate.

Students present visual art displays, theatrical works, movement explorations and musical interpretations at bi-annual Art Showcase events.

All of this has given staff at LaBelle a new way of reaching students. They shared in their application:

“The human experience expressed through music, dance, theater, and visual arts has broadened the scope of collaborative interaction between student and teacher and student and student. In such a creative, collaborative, and personally meaningful school climate, energy has become directed toward higher order thinking rather than surface level recall.”

The winners are schools where all students have access to arts integration in every subject and there is both rigor and relevance in the arts integration programming. Arts integration professional development is ongoing, the program is well-organized, and the school involves the community in the arts.

“We believe the arts are an essential part of a well-rounded education, that they are valuable on their own and that they enhance learning in other subject areas,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “This award recognizes schools who are going above and beyond to integrate the arts into their students’ day-to-day learning experience.”

The other winners are: Powder Springs Elementary School, Coleman Middle School in Gwinnett County Schools, Henderson Mill Elementary School in DeKalb County Schools and Kay Pace School of the Arts in Clayton County Schools.

“We are thrilled to be able to recognize these schools for their dedication to providing both high-quality arts integration in all subject areas, and arts education to students,” GaDOE Fine Arts Manager Jessica Booth said.