HAMDEN, CT — December 17, 2025 — Arts for Learning Connecticut (AFLCT) is pleased to announce it has received a $5,000 grant from the Farmington Greater Together Community Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving in support of Express Yourself: Social and Emotional Resiliency through the Arts, an initiative serving every K-6 student across Farmington Public Schools during the 2024–25 school year. This funding contributes to a larger project that will bring performances and creative classroom workshops to five Farmington elementary schools, strengthening student engagement, supporting social-emotional learning, and promoting cultural awareness through the arts.
Express Yourself is entering its second year following a successful pilot at two Farmington schools. The expanded program will deliver one workshop day and one performance day at each of the district’s five K–6 schools (East Farms, Noah Wallace, Union, West District, and West Woods Upper Elementary), ensuring that all 1,950 students have access to high-quality, culturally responsive arts learning. AFLCT’s professional Teaching Artists will lead classroom sessions that integrate movement, storytelling, visual arts, and music with academic and social-emotional goals, while school-wide assemblies will bring entire student communities together to celebrate creativity and culture. Approximately 150 educators will also benefit through curriculum-aligned resources and opportunities to reinforce creative learning in their classrooms.
This initiative responds to a demonstrated need for more consistent, hands-on arts learning in Farmington, particularly experiences that build social and emotional resiliency and give all students meaningful opportunities for creative expression. While the district maintains strong academic outcomes, arts-integrated learning is not consistently funded, leaving gaps that disproportionately affect students from low-income households and underrepresented groups. Feedback from last year’s pilot highlights the value of this work, with teachers praising the program’s cultural relevance, alignment with classroom content, and ability to engage students deeply in both learning and self-expression.
Confirmed district funding, alongside contributions from the Farmington Community Chest and this award from the Farmington Greater Together Community Fund, ensures that the program will reach every K–6 learner in the community.
The Farmington Greater Together Community Fund, established by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, supports projects that strengthen local communities by empowering residents to identify and address shared needs. More information is available at https://www.hfpg.org/donors/ways-to-give/community-funds/farmington.