I am a 1st grade teacher in Brooklyn, and I also run a multi-age gardening club at the school. Over several years we have landscaped the green areas surrounding our school, planted and maintained perennial gardens, and most recently worked very hard to restore our gardens in the aftermath of Sandy.
I work in beautiful school community of dedicated teachers and families, many of whom are still struggling to rebuild their lives after Hurricane Sandy.
All of my students receive free school lunch. My students are extremely dedicated to our gardening & beautification efforts, and definitely live up to our club motto of, "Dig Deep". We have essentially had to start over our efforts with our garden since all of our trees and most shrubs and plants were killed by salt water after the hurricane. We have been working with volunteer groups and have made tremendous progress. We are funded solely through grants. However one thing that I haven't been able to tackle is the deteriorating mural that is on the wall directly right of the main entrance to the school. It is an eyesore, and does not in any way reflect the vibrant learning community housed within the building.
My Project
I am requesting a residency with a teaching artist from Brooklyn Arts Council, who will plan, design, and finally paint the mural with the students. The students would actually design the mural, and their renderings would be featured in it - we are not just paying a company to come in and paint a mural. This is so important so that kids can feel ownership of this piece of art within the community, and someday can walk by the school and show their own kids what they did! Students should walk to school and feel proud of what they see on their way in the building, and what they are seeing right now sadly, is nothing to feel proud about. As this is a 15 week residency we would never be able to do this project without generous donations.
Our school building is in constant use; an after-school program is run there, and on the weekends it is used for sporting events and as a recreation center.
It really is the center of the community. The mural directly adjacent to the main entrance of the school should be colorful, vibrant, and meaningful, and the school environment is really all of those things. Please help us breathe new life into the school building, and to the whole community. Your donation will make a difference.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. D'Amato and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
