Snohomish School District kindergarten and 1st grade teachers will soon be one step closer to having additional tools in their classrooms that help provide students with the creative supplies that more closely represent who they are.
Thanks to the local Color Me Important project, which is organized by Marnie Gray, the Snohomish Lions Club and others from the Snohomish community, Snohomish School District’s youngest students will have some new tools that will help make it easier to express themselves creatively. Color Me Important organizers will gift every district kindergarten and 1st grade classroom with a supply kit/tote filled with some creative essentials and resources, such as Crayola Colors of the World markers and crayons, skin tone bandages, skin tone construction paper colors, body cutouts and the New York Times bestselling picture book All Are Welcome by author Alexandra Penfold. The supply kits/totes will be distributed to Snohomish School District elementary schools on December 19 and will be used by classrooms after the Winter Break.
“Our goal is to engage students by recognizing and celebrating diversity in the classroom and to help every student feel important and valued,” said Gray, community organizer of the Color Me Important project. “Teachers frequently are left to buy supplies for their own classrooms. Basic boxes of crayons and colorful construction paper are often on the this supply list, but budget constraints prevent many teachers from fulfilling their true wish lists. Teachers would love to offer more diverse opportunities to represent their students, especially when it comes to expressing themselves creatively. Our goal is to help teachers bridge that gap and provide students with supplies that more closely represent who they are. Apricot and brown shouldn't be the only two colors to choose from.”
In its promotional materials, Color Me Important notes that it strives to provide students with classroom supplies that reflect who they are. The group’s goal is to engage students by recognizing and celebrating diversity in the classroom and to help every student feel important and valued.
“It is our privilege to help every child showcase their uniqueness and to realize they their individuality is something to be proud of,” said Gray. “We want every student in the classroom to fell represented, valued and seen. We love to support teachers as they strive to make their classrooms safe and nurturing places for every student. We want to help each child’s light shine bright, and we believe that the tote of supplies we provide classroom teachers will help ignite a flame of inspiration for all who use them.”
