ABC

Program Objectives

Enhance Kindergarten Readiness: Strengthen early literacy, vocabulary, and cognitive development through interactive arts-based instruction.
Build Social-Emotional Competence: Foster confidence, cooperation, and self-expression through creative exploration.
Empower Educators: Provide PreK teachers with professional development in arts integration to deepen teaching practice and engagement.
Engage Families: Encourage learning beyond the classroom with family arts-and-literacy take-home activities.
Model Community Collaboration: Connect schools, arts organizations, higher education, and families to support whole-child development.

Evidence of Success

ABC PreK draws on the proven outcomes of nationally recognized and Mississippi-based arts-integration models:

The Kennedy Center’s “Starts With the Arts” Program

Demonstrated measurable gains in early literacy and student engagement.
Showed that arts-integrated learning improves vocabulary and comprehension, particularly among young learners from diverse backgrounds.
ABC PreK is modeled after the highly successful Creativity First (CF) PreK Program developed in Tupelo, Mississippi, through The Link Centre. That program, which served 117 four-year-olds across eight daycares in the 2023–2024 school year, demonstrated extraordinary results in both literacy growth and kindergarten readiness.

Call for Teaching Artists

The Montgomery Institute is seeking teaching artists from the East Mississippi region to participate in the ABC PreK Pilot Program, an exciting new arts-integrated early learning initiative launching this fall in Meridian.

ABC PreK is designed to help young learners build the Academic, Behavioral, and Creative foundations needed for a successful transition into kindergarten. Through music, visual art, theatre, and movement, the program places creativity at the center of early learning while supporting literacy, social-emotional development, and classroom engagement.

We are looking for artists with an active background in their art form who are passionate about sharing their creativity with young children and helping shape the next generation of learners.

Teaching Artists Will:

Deliver arts-integrated lessons in PreK classrooms during fall and spring semesters of 2026/27
Collaborate with classroom teachers and program leadership
Participate in professional development sessions focused on arts integration and early childhood learning
Help bring engaging, creative experiences to children during their most important learning years

Who Should Apply:

Artists working in:

Performing Arts
Visual Arts
Dance / Movement

Applicants Click Here!

Get Involved!

need more information?

Contact Richelle Putnam, Project Director