We are a diverse Title I charter school with 1200 amazing students that crave a ceramics program. Our milieu is comprised of various cultures and economic backgrounds. More than one third of our student body comes from a low income family struggling to make ends meet. Many of our students are considered "at-risk youth" due to behavioral, emotional, and learning impairments. Often, our student's maladaptive behaviors stem from systematic family dysfunction disorder and they lack supportive role models to help them navigate life. What they lack at home, I want to provide through a hands on emotionally driven ceramics program.
I recognize the transformative power of clay and its ability to enhance student performance; building a ceramics program will facilitate discipline, therapeutic release and tolerance within our charter school.
Clay is inherently difficult to learn, but, the process of refinement to final product induces a deep sense of self-accomplishment within a student. Many of our students need guidance on how to love themselves and feel accomplished. A ceramic studio will be a therapeutic platform for them unplug from their screens, reflect, and play with clay.
My Project
My project will fund ceramic tools and equipment to start a K-12 ceramics program. This program will also be a means to integrate an element of art therapy into our art curriculum. Many of our students struggle with depression and working with clay can be a remarkable intervention for relieving stress while awakening their intrinsic value. Our students need more venues to express themselves to process their emotions. Clay is known as a regressive medium, meaning that for many individuals it draws up feelings/memories to process in a healthy kinesthetic way. Proper clay equipment will empower hands on learning and healing. We just need some tools to get the program rolling.
This project will fund an extruder and sculpting tools which will be the backbone of our new ceramics program; it will enable us to create sculpture, pottery, and awareness through art intervention.
An extruder is a labor saving device that can help mass produce ceramic coils for sculpture or pottery. Due to the high volume of students in my classes we need this tool to help crank out work, without it, we cannot run this program. This project will also fund carving/modeling tools needed for the classroom. Having these tools will launch our ceramics program into full swing.
This project will, in turn, further the students understanding of ceramic's and its relationship to society while broadening their understanding of themselves. These donations will have a colossal impact our charter school and community. Having these tools will not only launch our ceramics studio, but it will enhance our students’ lives as well.
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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. Herrington and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
