School Based Programs

Douglas Taylor Elementary School, located in the East Chicago neighborhood, has a rich school culture, complete with enthusiastic students and an empathetic staff. Through Ingenuity’s Creative Schools Fund, OSP has had the privilege of working with Taylor Elementary for multiple semesters, working with a diverse range of students.

We have been able to work with students from 3rd grade through 8th grade, all selected to participate by their teachers and school counselors. These students are selected for our creative SEL program based on both their interest in art, as well as their social-emotional needs.

Like many other schools in the Chicago Public School System, Taylor has a high percentage of English Language Learners. We encourage these students in particular to participate in our creative SEL program so they can experience a sense of community with their peers without the pressure of verbal communication.

Located in the Illinois Medical District on the near west side, Irving Elementary is a welcoming K-8 neighborhood school. With help from Ingenuity’s Creative Schools Fund, OSP operates as a facilitator for daytime weekly SEL art class. Students are selected for enrollment in our program through counselor referrals, who OSP staff work closely with. Classes are focused on different projects from our K-8 SEL curriculum; each one utilizing different strengths and aspects of social emotional learning. While engaging with these projects, students learn creative outlets for anger management, effective and healthy communication, social collaboration, self discovery, utilization of new techniques, kinesthetic and sensory processing, and experiential learning.

Mason Elementary is a K-8 school located on the West side of Chicago in the predominantly African-American neighborhood of North Lawndale. OSP works to bring SEL arts programming to Mason as a way of helping students cope with daily life in a creative, engaging, and stimulating format. Each project focuses SEL elements that assist with mood regulation, coping techniques, creative exploration and social skill building.

We work directly with the school’s counselor to provide services for any grade band that is in need of creative SEL programming. For the 2023-2024 school year, we have partnered with the school’s 4th grade teacher to bring arts programming to all the students in her class.

Turner Drew Language Academy is a Chicago Public School in the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. This small school provides students with a tight-knit community that is both welcoming and consistent, with all of the school staff being passionate and dedicated to their students' learning and well-being. OSP has been able to partner with Turner-Drew through Ingenuity’s Creative Schools Fund, allowing us to bring creative SEL experiences to the entire 4th and 5th grade classes. Because these students do not have a visual arts class in their normal curriculum, the hour that we spend with them weekly is one that they look forward to. In this hour, they are able to journal about their feelings, freely create artwork, and learn important social and emotional skills that they can use throughout their lives.