With the continued support from Texas A&M University-Kingsville, students from Memorial Middle School and H.M. King High School were able to experience a dramatic performance by a prominent literacy writer. Dr. Carmel Tafolla visited both campuses and put on a performance based off one of her literacy works. The goal is to inspire students to create their own short stories, and possibly develop career pathways in the arts.

This great production was made available to Kingsville ISD by the Rural Arts Grant awarded to Texas A&M University-Kingsville. In the spring of 2014, TAMUK was designated as the official Rural Arts Provider for Kleberg County and the surrounding areas by the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA), a state arts agency, to serve schools and their communities. To date, the Rural Art Program is the only organization south of San Antonio offering these services to South Texas students.

The grant is able to expose students to professional writers or poets who in turn, will inspire them in their reading and writing skills. The visit from Dr. Tafolla was made possible by the Rural Arts Grant. After the performance, Dr. Tafolla launched an open discussion with students about how they can master their creative writing techniques.

Kingsville ISD is aspiring to have interested teachers work with their students during class to empower them to create their stories and strive to get their stories digitally published. Dr. George Vargas from TAMUK has volunteered his time to assist our teachers with this process.

Photos attached are provided from TAMUK Photographer, Doug.

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