Fasken Elementary Students Learn Self Confidence through Art

Posted Date: 05/27/2025

Select 3rd grade students at Fasken Elementary learned to overcome insecurities and find self confidence by creating art.

The UISD Guidance and Counseling Department held the Why Art? program at select elementary campuses during the past school year. At Fasken Elementary, 30 third grade students were selected for this program, which merges art education with emotional wellness, teaching students how to overcome anxiety and insecurities by creating art. 

Over the 25 week course, students take weekly 45 minute classes led by local artist Margarita Decanini Molano, who teaches them drawing and painting and how to express their imaginations. Through painting, students learn important personal skills such as concentration and patience, while also developing self confidence.

The program at Fasken culminated with a contest. The students presented the paintings they created during the course, and they were reviewed by a judge who selected the top five plus an honorable mention. The two top prizes were laptops donated by local customs broker Daniella Sada Paz and Mexican Consul Juan Carlos Mendoza Sanchez.

UISD Director of Guidance and Counseling Melissa Ramirez is pleased by the change she has seen in each student. “They’re kind of introverted and shy at first, but at the end they have confidence and you see them looking at their masterpieces knowing that they did it. You see the joy in them, their confidence, and you see them start to believe in themselves,” she said.

Ms. Ramirez hopes to expand the Why Art? program to more schools across UISD.

Local artist and Why Art? course instructor Margarita Decanini Molano of ArtExpressions addresses her students at Fasken Elementary.