Barnstable Intermediate School presented a plan Oct. 1 to use a $5,000 Massachusetts Cultural Council grant to expand arts and graphic‑novel programming to every student in the building.

Mike Andrews, a sixth‑grade English teacher at BIS, told the committee the grant will fund a three‑part program: a yearlong Storyboard That subscription for teachers and students, a visit and multi‑session workshop with graphic novelist Matt Heagerty on Jan. 7, and team‑based graphic‑design workshops led by local designer Mary Katherine Starr. "We've been funded for another $5,000 grant this year, and our focus this year is gonna be around the love of graphic novels," Andrews said.

Andrews said the program will expand last year’s sixth‑grade-only mosaic and arts projects into a schoolwide effort. The Storyboard That platform will be used as an instructional tool; Andrews said teachers will pilot the subscription after a professional‑development session on Oct. 10. Librarian Deirdre Eldridge will arrange copies of Heagerty’s work for student access before his visit.

Committee members praised the proposal. "The short pass of showing kids what they can be in opening their world for them at an early age is super important," School Committee member Jen said during the meeting. Another member noted the grant supports students who show strengths in the arts as a pathway to engage with academic content.

The program schedule includes the Storyboard That training for staff in October, author sessions on Jan. 7, and small‑group workshops later in the year; teachers will receive site subscriptions to pilot the platform. Andrews said the design workshops will culminate in student projects that will be used for classroom prompts and a school installation.

No formal vote was required: the presentation described a privately funded grant that BIS staff will implement and report on as part of regular district updates.