Director of Schools and Chief Operating Officer to play key roles as CCE focuses on new program
(WEST PALM BEACH) As the Center for Creative Education (CCE) continues to roll out its newest program, The Foundations School, President and CEO Robert L. Hamon announced two key leadership positions guiding the new school to success. Jerry Crank has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer for CCE and Dr. Kevin Kovacs has been named Director of Schools.
Building on 27 years of successfully serving Palm Beach County students, CCE’s new independent kindergarten through third-grade school called The Foundations School opened its doors on January 4, 2021 to students in disadvantaged communities. The private school uses a sliding fee scale based on household size and income, and no one is turned away for inability to pay. Despite opening in the middle of a school year and during a pandemic, nearly half of its 60 spaces for students have already been filled with enrollment openings still available for the current school year and summer programs.
“At CCE, our goal has always been to transform teaching and learning through creativity and the arts,” said Hamon. “Now, with The Foundations School, we are leveraging our decades of arts in education teaching skills to work with students from disadvantaged communities to achieve dramatic and extraordinary results. Jerry brings tremendous passion and institutional knowledge along with a background in the arts to this new role as COO. Kevin comes to us with 15 years in educational administration experience and brings an additional 10 years of experience integrating arts as a classroom teacher to his role as Director of Schools. They head a dynamic group of wonderful teaching professionals and a committed and capable administrative team.”
As Chief Operating Officer, Crank manages day-to-day operations for CCE with new focus on The Foundations School. He ensures the organization has the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, and people systems in place to effectively grow the organization and to endure financial strength and operating efficiency. A resident of Lake Worth, Crank joined CCE in 2012 as the Program Manager. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Arts from Marshall University, where he also served on the faculty. He taught Pre-K through 8th grade for seven years and is certified at the Maestro level by Kindermusik International.
“This new role marries all of my skill sets,” said Crank, “ and education, the arts and management come together in a way that makes it exciting and fulfilling to come to work every day. As a society, it’s critical we support schools like The Foundations School. Illiteracy and its subsequent societal backlashes won’t just ‘go away.’ Someone has to intentionally and lovingly change the trajectory of our students’ lives. At The Foundations School, our entire team is committed and dedicated to every student as the individual they are!”
As Director of Schools, Dr. Kevin Kovacs oversees all school-related and afterschool initiatives for The Foundations School. A Lake Worth resident, Dr. Kovacs serves as principal of The Foundations School, performing all leadership duties concerning school administration, personnel, parent engagement, student performance and curriculum. He was an administrator in the Palm Beach County public schools for eight years. Then, for seven years he was principal at an innovative K-8 public charter school before joining CCE. For the past 10 years, he has been an adjunct professor at Palm Beach State College, teaching technology courses in the education department, as well as courses in the social sciences. Dr. Kovacs holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Arts and a Master’s degree in Education from UMASS, Boston; along with a Doctorate Degree in Education from Nova Southeastern University.
“At The Foundations School, it is an exciting challenge to bring clarity and measurable evidence to that relationship between creativity, art, and increased knowledge of literacy and reading skills – the place where art and academics meet on equal terms,” said Dr. Kovacs. “Our students get a different approach to learning. They get to learn in a positive way who they are as learners. The result may be increased confidence as well as a stronger connection to and love of the learning process itself. We are serving underserved communities. Our students might otherwise, in another educational setting, be kept afloat as opposed to being given a passion for learning and a stronger inclination to thrive and reach for more.”
The new school uses small class sizes, flexible grouping, arts integration, and highly qualified and dedicated educators as part of its approach. A low student-to-teacher ratio and a sense of community in the classroom ensure opportunities to individualize learning activities to match students’ learning styles and academic goals.
The Foundations School is working with education students at Palm Beach Atlantic University, Florida Atlantic University and Palm Beach State College to provide those students with a practicum in a kindergarten through third-grade arts-integrated school. Students experience the school’s emphasis on teachers working with teaching artists to produce arts-integrated curriculum that results in increased student learning in reading, math and science.
Families interested in learning more about enrollment in The Foundations School, or the new summer program, “The Arts for Literacy,” are encouraged to attend a free Open House event on Saturday, April 17. Families will receive a tour of the new school as well as participate in a fun art activity led by The Foundations School teaching artists. For additional information, visit cceflorida.org. To make a donation toward a scholarship, please call Vivianne Hall at 561.805.9927; extension 105.