Del Valle ISD To Get 'Art Boxes' For In-Home Learning

AUSTIN, TX — The Texas Cultural Trust is partnering with HEB and Del Valle Independent School District to pilot the “Art Box” project, an effort to provide creative resources for children in Title I schools to engage in creativity at home, officials announced on Monday.

Title I schools serve high concentrations of students from low-income homes, campuses with more than 40 percent of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch are designated Title I. The so-called “Art Boxes” containing more than 20 basic art supplies from drawing utensils, glue sticks, paintbrushes, watercolors, and canvas to sidewalk chalk and a drawing pad will be distributed, via curb-side pickup on Tuesday from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. to Del Valle Elementary School 2nd grade students. All told, 85 art boxes will be distributed.

"We know that quarantine restrictions have negatively affected the emotional and mental health of students and families," officials wrote in an advisory. "Amplified through the limitations of virtual learning, many students in both marginalized communities and lower income families have gone without opportunities for creative expression. Recognizing a need for improved arts access, TXCT launched the “Art Box” project to provide the students of Title I schools with resources to encourage creativity, help them express their feelings, reflect on current events, and engage with others at home."

Each box also includes a materials guide and instructions to support students in maximizing their creative potential, as well as their understanding of how to use, care for, and maintain the supplies provided, officials described. All “Art Box” materials are available in English and Spanish, officials added.

"Knowing that the arts improve mental health and sustain social and emotional learning, while also increasing academic success, the Trust plans to grow the “Art Box” project in hopes of providing all children—regardless of their socio-economic level of demographics—with the opportunity for creative engagement, the arts, and arts education," officials said.

Supplies include:

• Storage box.
• Model magic.
• Small eraser.
• Scissors.
• Charcoal pencil.
• Tracing pad.
• Pipe cleaners.
• Canvas panel.
• Glue stick.
• Oil pastels.
• Sidewalk chalk.
• Felt.
• Construction paper.
• Crayons.
• Colored pencils.
• Washable paint Set with paintbrush.
• Washable markers.
• Liquid school glue.
• Paint palette.
• Washable watercolor paint set.
• Sketch pad.
• Acrylic paint brush set.
• Watercolor paper sheets.
• Multicultural crayons.

This pilot is made possible, in part, through the generosity of HEB, officials noted.