John Tyson Elementary School of Innovation celebrated being Arkansas’ only 2026 Crayola Global Ambassador School Feb. 25 at a schoolwide Creativity Celebration.
John Tyson Elementary is one of 15 national and 31 worldwide Global Ambassador Schools that serve students ages 5–13. The program features schools that registered to participate and are showcasing their unique Creativity Week experiences.
“Creativity is an essential part of student development,” said Jennifer Boogaart, John Tyson EAST facilitator. “I'm so lucky that I get to go to school and get to celebrate creativity.”
Crayola Learning selected John Tyson Elementary from over 1,200 applicants across 11 countries. The 2026 schools are part of an inaugural class of ambassadors showcasing how creativity fuels learning. As Global Ambassadors, the schools represents the spirit of the fifth annual Crayola Creativity Week, joining a network of some 127,000 schools worldwide.
Students engaged in creative activities throughout the week in the library and physical education, music and art classes, but Wednesday served as the week’s “main stage" event.
“If you're creative and you exercise the muscle in your brain, that helps you learn” said student Tuck Mathews.
Local community partners demonstrated how creativity is used in professional careers, to include on-site literary arts sessions with two guest authors, sustainability and science papermaking workshops with Boston Mountain Solid Waste District, cooking demonstrations with FoodCorps, robotics and technology experiences with instructional assistant Laura Bishop and choreography sessions with the Har-Ber High School Silver Stars.
“I actually drew something on a paper, and then we used AI to make it seem like it was in a movie,” said student Witten Spencer. “It would move, which is super cool. I was so excited about that.”
Global Ambassador Schools received art supplies, resources and creativity-themed merchandise to boost their Creativity Week celebrations, including Crayola products to use during Creativity Week, a jumbo display banner to display in the school, specialty merchandise such as socks, bookmarks, T-shirts, posters and stickers to showcase creative spirit and an official brochure with planning information, a supplies wish list, a letter to parents, a schedule of events and tips for sharing the school’s experiences with the community.
“The kids all got to use Crayola products for these activities, and some of them will be taking the Crayola products home with them,” Boogaart said. “They are really excited.”
Schools may obtain information on becoming a 2027 Global Ambassadors through the Crayola website beginning in October 2027.