Our students come from challenging backgrounds that offer little to no support for their success or well-being. They are inner city youth trying to get by with what little they have, focused on what they could be.
Overage and under-accredited, our students strive for what many have told them they could not achieve - to succeed in life.
Our campus is a community of support, for both behavior and academics. However, our campus is very much under funded for the tools needed to challenge and support our students to reach their goals. We make best of what we have, but a little help could definitely go a long way.
My Project
It has been a few years since Excel South has had an Art Program. During the absence, most supplies used specifically for art have been used up and run down. Basic supplies such as pencils and paper are supplied quite frequently, but some supplies and equipment, specific for art could be very beneficial to everyday use.
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life" - Pablo Picasso.
Most of our students have little to no artistic experience and are unaware of the opportunities the visual arts have to offer. Whether painting, printing, molding, or carving, students are able to find a concentration that calls to them and allows them to express themselves in ways they never thought possible.
One concentration in particular that is used throughout lessons is drawing. Basic pencil and paper can open up the imagination for more complex mediums. As any artist would tell you, time is very important. One piece of equipment that would help cut back on setup and planning would be a paper cutter. Currently, our campus is without a paper cutter and the time needed to make clean, accurate cuts is very time consuming. In addition, poster board is very popular among students and they become very excited to put their creations on medium other that copy paper. A few boxes of poster board would help start off the year and allow students to take pride in craftsmanship and final presentations.
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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 Mr. Velazquez and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
