IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Clinton pupils become poets

By Christina Hernandez, Managing Editor
Gregory Knight got everyone clapping to his performance on Feb. 18 in the auditorium at Clinton Elementary School in Maplewood.
The smiling fourth-grader, who is in special education class in Clinton, rocked back-and-forth as he sang his rendition of the Bruno Mars hit, “Just the Way you Are.”
As he approached the last few words of the song, cheers, whistles and loud applause resonated in the two-story assembly hall.
“Thank you,” Gregory said, as he threw his hands up above his head and smiled from ear-to-ear before waving slightly.
His confidence was highlighted on stage during the Poetry Slam, where parents and Clinton students watched musical and poetry performances by fourth-graders as part of the school’s Artist-in-Residence program.
School leader Ann Bodnar said performances like Gregory’s are what make this type of program vital to the school community.
“This program is phenomenal,” said the assistant to Principal Patricia O’Neill. “It helps build confidence in the students and gives the opportunity for those who may not shine, to actually shine.”
Clinton’s annual Artist-in-Residence program, such as the Poetry Slam, was made possible through funding from the Artists-in-Education program sponsored by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and other art-focused agencies.
For 10 years Clinton school has been receiving funding from this program, which allows schools to pay for various artists specializing in dance, jazz, poetry and music to teach students about the arts.
Seth Boyden Demonstration School in Maplewood has also received the grant, school leaders said.
Cecelia Cancellaro, grant writer at Clinton and organizer of the Artist-in-Residence program, said schools are required to match the amount of funds given to them through the program. For instance, Clinton received $6,000 to host the Poetry Slam, which the school’s Parent Teacher Association matched, plus gave an additional $800 so a band could play at this year’s event.
Bodnar said that the Artist-in-Residence program at Clinton is held three days a week during school hours over the course of a month. She added that the program is held around the class period when students are learning language arts. Typically, at the end of the program, a performance is given to the public on what the students learned from a particular artist, who is selected by staff through interviews. This year, Lamont Dixon and Josh Robinson were the featured artists at Clinton. Their band, The Vibe Poetics, played at the Poetry Slam.
“It’s good to sit down and think and learn,” Robinson told the audience after Gregory’s performance, “and other times, as you can see, it’s good to just let loose.”
Cancellaro said the Artist-in-Residence program would not be possible without the support of the PTA, teachers and administrators.
“This brings art in the classroom in a different way,” she said. “This reinforces other stuff that kids are doing, and allows us to understand how important arts is to education.”