SOMSD staff attends summer arts conference

Photo Courtesy of James Manno
From left are Marshall School teachers Julie Matthew, Deborah Kalpus, Laura Wood and Jessica Fong; Marshall School Principal Bonita Samuels; and SOMSD fine arts supervisor James Manno.

SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — This summer, South Orange-Maplewood School District supervisor of fine arts James Manno and Marshall School Principal Bonita Samuels, along with a team of Marshall teachers, visual art teacher Jessica Fong and kindergarten teachers Laura Wood, Deborah Kalpus and Julie Matthew, participated in the Educational Leaders as Scholars three-day conference at Princeton University.

The conference focused on arts integration at school and district levels and the benefits of an arts-rich educational community including student growth, teacher efficacy and positive school culture and climate. A variety of New Jersey school districts were represented at engaging workshops and presentations by esteemed keynote speakers, arts organizations and arts centered companies.

As a result of attending the conference, a partnership between Crayola, the SOMSD Fine Arts Department and Marshall School was formed. Crayola will be providing the first professional development workshop on creative leadership teams at Marshall School on Aug. 22.