University of Chicago - NKO Charter School Fall 2023

What began as a small afterschool program at the University of Chicago - NKO Charter School on Chicago’s southside is now in the middle of a semester of during the day classes; classes that will continue through the duration of the school year.

This unique partnership began as an experimental pilot program and was so successful and well-liked by both the school’s students and administrators, that we were invited to continue offering our exclusive Painting Pandas curated curriculum to their students. As part of their Health and Fitness curriculum, Painting Pandas classes focus not only on art and creativity, but also art history, anthropology, ecology, geography, the fundamentals of art and with an emphasis on Social Emotional Learning

“We feel this kind of program is the perfect way to combine our art with health, fitness, and social emotional learning,” says Painting Pandas Founder Jill Turner. “The students are diligently engaged using materials and lessons we provide and are taught by the school’s health and fitness teacher.”

It’s the perfect blending of two worlds. NKO has the students, instructor, and facility and Painting Pandas provides the curriculum and supplies. There are 350 students in grades Kindergarten-5th grade taught by a dedicated in-person educator who has learned the unique and engaging Painting Pandas way. It’s a faraway and far cry from our humble yet ambitious beginnings.

The original Painting Pandas program was offered exclusively online during the pandemic and continued even as the world began to open up. After many successful semesters teaching our multiple themes to three different age groups, we realized that the next step was to take our Painting Pandas classes off the tablet and into the classroom.