Tajiri Arts School and Museum is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization founded in 1988 by Patricia Merritt Whatley, a former special education teacher in Seminole County Schools. Tajiri Arts, named in honor of her son, Kamili Tajiri, a graduate of Florida A&M University School of Engineering, has trained over 1,400 students in the tri-county area. In 1995, the Sanford City Commissioners unanimously voted to donate the historic Little Red Schoolhouse to Tajiri Arts to serve as their home office. Along with being on the National Registry of Historic places, the Seminole County Historic Commission erected a historical marker at The Little Red Schoolhouse on April 3, 2004, noting it as Sanford’s first public school.
The school has trained ethnically diverse students ages 3 - 17 in weekly drama-in-the-round classes. The curriculum is structured to improve academic performance by focusing on good study habits, positive attitudes and appropriate behavior. The TA program is funded by grants, gifts and charitable donations. The curriculum included etiquette, modeling, speech and drama, tutoring in Math, Reading, English and Science, entrepreneurship, self-esteem, scene study, story-telling/puppetry, musical theater, piano, drums and guitar, improvisation and Seminole Community Boys Glee Club.
The Tajiri Arts mission is to improve the quality of life of youth in the community, encourage young people to stay in school, foster cultural understanding, impart an appreciation of the performing arts, and provide an awareness of cultural and historic contributions of Native and African Americans.
Tajiri Arts founder, Mrs. Whatley, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and a Master of Arts degree in Administration and Supervision. She was voted teacher of the year (1992) and received the State's Human and Civil Rights in Education Award (1996). She was also named Educator of the Year by the Sanford Optimist Club (1998). Under her leadership, Tajiri Arts was given the First Annual Stephens and Comas Bibliotherapy Award (1998) through the International Reading Association for building self-esteem through literature.
Tajiri is a Swahili term that means rich, wealthy, well-off.