NEW ORLEANS – KID smART has hired Dr. Kyley Pulphus-Smith to fill the role of education director.
“We are excited to welcome Kyley to the KID smART team,” said Elise Gallinot Goldman, the organization’s executive director. “With her many years of experience integrating the arts into learning, she will be a tremendous asset to our team. We look forward to seeing her talents flourish within our organization.”
A native New Orleanian, Pulphus-Smith received her Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the University of New Orleans, her Master of Fine Arts degree in filmmaking from Florida State University and her Doctor of Philosophy in curriculum and instruction from Louisiana State University.
Pulphus-Smith is an award-winning children’s film writer/director who spent several years working in children’s television in Los Angeles. She returned to New Orleans to pursue a career in education. She has spent extensive time as a classroom teacher, teacher coach and teacher consultant for the Greater New Orleans Writing Project. She was also the founding program director of a youth writing nonprofit, where, under her stewardship, she supported thousands of young people in strengthening their writing skills. She also has overseen the publishing of 30 books of youth writing, worked with dozens of teachers and facilitated many professional development workshops.
“Being an educator is something that I am extremely passionate about,” said Pulphus-Smith. “As education director, I am very much looking forward to finding ways to strengthen the already incredibly rich and dynamic KID smART programming, because all children benefit from arts education. Throughout my life and career, creativity and the arts have allowed me to connect with the world and opened doors of opportunity that would have otherwise likely been closed to me. My hope is to inspire a similar experience for the young people KID smART supports across the greater New Orleans area.”
Dr. Pulphus-Smith has received several honors, most recently earning the International Literacy Association’s Helen M. Robinson award. She was also recognized as one of Gambit’s 40 under 40 and a Millennial Educator of the Year Finalist.
Founded in 1999, KID smART provides public school students with greater access to arts-rich education. In its 25-year history, the organization has served more than 63,000 students and 11,000 teachers in schools throughout New Orleans.