SPRINGDALE — Paul Leopoulos admitted he was troubled when he first saw his daughter’s class schedule for her junior year of high school. Almost all of the classes had to do with the arts.
“I thought, where are the real classes? How ignorant I was then,” Leopoulos said, speaking to educators Wednesday in the media room of J.O. Kelly Middle School.
At A Glance
Thea Foundation Accomplishments
Some of the Thea Foundation’s accomplishments since it was established in 2001:
Awarded 169 scholarships worth $1.6 million to high school seniors
Delivered $916,500 in art supplies to 386 Arkansas schools
Installed 176 original art exhibits in Arkansas schools
Promoted the A+ Schools program, a whole-school reform model that views the arts as fundamental to teaching and learning in every subject
Initiated other programs such as Thea Paves the Way, a sidewalk chalk art event for kids.
Leopoulos, co-founder and director of the Thea Foundation, now promotes the concept of incorporating the arts into education at all grade levels. The foundation is named in honor of his daughter, a North Little Rock student who died in a car accident in 2001 when she was 17.
Leopoulos was in Springdale on Wednesday to formally announce awards of art supplies to eight schools in the region. Each school received $1,500 worth of crayons, colored pencils, paint, brushes, construction paper, modeling clay and other supplies. They will be delivered to the schools within two weeks, Leopoulos said.
Schools chosen for the awards included J.O. Kelly Middle School and George Junior High School in Springdale, Asbell and Owl Creek elementary schools in Fayetteville, Old Wire Elementary School in Rogers and Green Forest elementary, middle and high schools.
More than 4,500 students will benefit from these donations, the foundation said.
The donations were made possible through a $15,000 grant from the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation. The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art also provided art-focused curriculum guides to the award recipients.
The donations are part of the Thea’s Art Closet program, through which the foundation gives high-quality art supplies to educators across Arkansas. Leopoulos said the recipients were chosen based on the schools’ high poverty levels as measured by their free and reduced-price lunch rates.
Leopoulos showed off examples of his daughter’s art, including a finger painting of blues legend B.B. King. Once a struggling student, her success in art classes carried over to the rest of her education.
“She couldn’t wait to go to school,” Leopoulos said. “We know now if the creative process is found every day in the classroom, kids will learn.”
Miguel Rodriguez, a seventh-grader at J.O. Kelly Middle School, attended Wednesday’s ceremony. He said his interest in school increased when he discovered his joy of drawing.
“When I see something, I draw it,” Rodriguez said.
His art teachers said Rodriguez has become a better all-around student since he began receiving recognition for his artistic talent.
Tracy Bratton, principal of Asbell Elementary, said her 450 students have one art class every six days of school.
“The art teachers have a limited budget, so this donation will increase their supplies,” Bratton said.
Eric Hipp, an assistant principal at J.O. Kelly, said there’s never enough money for the school’s art program.
“This is a great gift,” Hipp said of the donation. “It’s very needed. Looking at the supplies, there’s nothing we will not use. We can make $1,500 of supplies go a long way.”