Mississippi Creative Arts School Hosts a Day of Student Leadership, Culture, and Community on May 15

Saint Paul Public Schools leadership, the Minnesota Twins, and Ecolab's Asian Employee Resource Group join Mississippi Creative Arts School for an Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration shaped by students
ST. PAUL, MN | May 15, 2026 - At a moment when Minnesota school leaders are reporting rising concerns around student mental health, absenteeism, and school climate, Mississippi Creative Arts School in St. Paul is making space for joy, belonging, and student leadership during the school day. On Thursday, May 15, the school community will host a celebration of what its students have been building all year, joined by Saint Paul Public Schools leadership, the Minnesota Twins, Ecolab's Asian Employee Resource Group, and Playworks Minnesota.

The day is shaped by the school. Mississippi Creative Arts serves students from Hmong, Karen, and broader Asian heritage communities, and the celebration falls during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Student youth leaders will lead recess games for their younger classmates. A chalk mural rooted in Hmong textile traditions will be created together on the blacktop. Kites will fly above the playground, led by Ecolab's ACE ERG and joined by students, staff, and volunteers.

"What is happening at Mississippi Creative Arts is what happens at a school where students, teachers, and the community around them all decide to invest in the same kids," said Shauna McDonald, Executive Director of Playworks Minnesota. "The student leaders in this school have been doing this work all year. May 15 is the school community showing them that what they have built matters."

Saint Paul Public Schools is a longtime partner of Playworks Minnesota and has worked alongside Playworks in schools across the district for years. Ecolab is a longtime community partner of Playworks Minnesota and supports programming at Mississippi Creative Arts through the Ecolab Foundation. Ecolab is also a brand partner of the Minnesota Twins, and both organizations are showing up at the school together to recognize what the students and staff have created.
The Play Day is one of two community events Playworks Minnesota is hosting in May. On May 5, nearly 1,000 student leaders from elementary schools across the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota gathered at CHS Field for the Playworks Minnesota Youth Leadership Summit, hosted by the St. Paul Saints. Together, the events recognize what students have been doing in their schools all year and the community partners who chose to show up for them.

Media Information
Date: Thursday, May 15, 2026
Location: Mississippi Creative Arts School, St. Paul, MN
Note to media: This is a closed school-day event. Media are not invited on-site. Photography, video footage, and post-event interviews with Playworks Minnesota leadership, Twins and Ecolab representatives, the principal, and Saint Paul Public Schools leadership will be available the week following the event.

Available post-event for interview: Shauna McDonald (Playworks Minnesota), Mississippi Creative Arts School principal (with school permission), Minnesota Twins and Ecolab representatives, Saint Paul Public Schools leadership.
Photography and video: A photo gallery and short video edit will be available within ten days of the event for media use, with appropriate permissions in place.

Contact: Shauna McDonald, shauna.mcdonald@playworks.org, 612-281-1876.

Playworks Minnesota
2136 Ford Pkwy, Suite #8210
St. Paul, MN 55116

Contact
Shauna McDonald, shauna.mcdonald@playworks.org
612-281-1876.

About Playworks
Playworks is a national nonprofit that has partnered with schools and districts for 30 years to build the conditions where every student can play, belong, lead, and learn, reaching more than 5.3 million students in 6,000 schools across the country. Independent research from Mathematica and Stanford University, an evaluation from RAND, and findings published in peer-reviewed journals support the model.
Playworks Minnesota has been partnering with schools and districts across the state for more than 16 years, currently working in 40 schools and reaching more than 25,000 students. We partner with schools and districts to strengthen student engagement and school culture, helping students build connection, leadership, and a sense of belonging at a time when schools are navigating rising absenteeism, behavioral health challenges, and increased demands on staff. Learn more at playworks.org.

This release was published on openPR.