ST. PAUL, Minn. - s4story -- 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.

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"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.

Media Information

Date: Thursday, May 15, 2026

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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.

More information can be found at playworks.org/minnesota