In a bright classroom at Sehome High School, 58 Mythology students are working on something far bigger than an English assignment. They’re learning to reclaim the stories that shape how we see the world, and themselves.

Many of these students are first-generation, multilingual, or navigating complex learning needs. Many have struggled with traditional school structures, attendance, or feeling like their voices matter. But their teacher, Shirley Prichard, sees something powerful: “They’re so wise,” she said. “When I ask them what they think, or what inspired an idea, they just run with it. Their insights are incredible.”

This spring, thanks to donor support for Enrichment & Innovation Grants, these students will participate in a collaborative storytelling and art project unlike anything they’ve done before. With guidance from community artists in printmaking and textiles, and in partnership with the gallery at Western Washington University, students will create large-scale art pieces that reimagine and challenge traditional mythic tropes.

The project will take students out into the community as well. Grant funds are helping bring the class to the Whatcom Museum to explore exhibitions on printmaking, identity, and resistance. “We want students to see how artists use visual storytelling to say something real about their lives,” Ms. Prichard shared. “Art is literacy too. It’s another way of expressing truth.”

In the classroom, students will work alongside visiting local artists who will introduce them to new materials, new techniques, and new ways of thinking. Some students already identify as artists. Others have never touched textile art or printmaking before. But the playing field feels intentionally level. “I’m not telling them what to make,” their teacher emphasized. “It’s their vision. Their experiences. Their chance to say something about representation, access, and identity.”

The final exhibition, hosted by the WWU Gallery, will give students the kind of platform usually reserved for college-level artists. They’ll write artist statements, share their work publicly, and see their ideas displayed in a formal gallery space.  The goal is to create powerful recognition of their creativity and intellectual voice.

This is exactly what Enrichment & Innovation Grants are designed to do: spark curiosity, elevate student voices, and open doors to experiences that help young people see themselves as capable creators and changemakers

When you support Enrichment & Innovation Grants, you’re not just funding materials. You’re giving students a chance to discover who they can be.