Springdale, Ark., is about as far from a tropical island as you can get, but if you listen closely near Monitor Elementary School, you might hear the mellifluous sound of ukuleles. Educator Julia Crane’s ukulele club is a class and community favorite, traveling to local art festivals and performing at school functions. “I wrote my first grant asking for ukuleles in the spring of 2014 because in my field, I work with a student body that is about 30% Marshallese on average,” M

Under a colorful schoolroom ceiling, with a hand-painted periodic table of elements radiating rainbow overhead, close to three dozen high school students hover in groups around laboratory stations. Mr. Johnson’s chemistry class at Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood, Ark., normally isn’t this crowded. Today, Ms. Brannen’s art students have joined the science students for a lesson on how art and chemistry collide. “Art interacts with all subject matter,” Brannen says. “For me