A Cascade Middle School educator found a creative way to to help students make sense of a moment that reshaped their world.
When Judy Tacchini applied for a SELCO SPARK! Creative Learning Grant (now known as Creative Educator Grants) in 2021, she wanted to help her students process a defining moment in their lives—the COVID-19 pandemic. Her project, Preserve the Narrative, invited students to write, design, and publish a paperback anthology of stories that captured their lived—or imagined—experiences during this unprecedented time.
Through this project, students explored creative writing, editing, and publishing while also developing empathy and collaboration. Each story became a reflection of resilience, connection, and the shared human experience that emerged from isolation.
By the end of the project, students held in their hands a professionally printed anthology—proof that their voices matter and that storytelling can preserve both memory and meaning. The project not only strengthened their literacy and artistic confidence but also built a sense of community within the classroom as students learned that every perspective deserves to be heard.
