Help me give my students much needed and updated accessible technology and materials to teach a proper digital arts class and to showcase their beautiful creations.
My high school scholars are enthusiastic learners with a great ability to express themselves when given the proper art tools and materials. The quality of character they show daily are enthusiasm, thoughtful, creative, ambitious, and extremely hardworking. These students are always eager to learn, and I do my best to give the students the resources they need to succeed in the 21st century. The technology in my classroom is minimally updated being that I teach digital arts most of the school day. Our school is quite large with over 1900 students attending.
Our students are members of a diverse, highly populated urban community.
A large number of our students are EL's in addition to the mainstream, SPED, and dual identified. I am very thankful that my school allows the teachers to teach our students in ways that will allow them to be engaged and grow in ways that once did not seem possible. Integrating the proper technology and computer resources into the digital art classroom can transform any lesson and project as it creates a foundation for any "school" of art in addition to creative problem solving beyond the computers, while being motivated and engaged in their art production.
My Project
If you go to an art college, look in the digital classes; every student has the ability to showcase their artwork in a gallery setting. By purchasing a photo printer for use in my classroom, my students will be even more engaged and motivated to display their digital art creation in many of the art shows our art department contributes to meanwhile taking pride in their finished work. Five other art teachers will have access to this printer as well.
With our visual arts department where the curriculum is based on project-based learning, students that are socio-economically disadvantaged often struggle to create finished products that display their true abilities and are "refrigerator" worthy.
As stated in our SSIP, supporting the development of SEL competencies within our school: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision making, and relationship skills will develop and assist to implement a comprehensive, tiered approach to improve attendance in all grades". Data for 2018-19 states: 228 of 1675 students were chronically absent. 9th grade 53; 10th grade 38; 11th grade 48; 12th grade 89. Equaling 13.8% chronically absent rate. Those students developed a student success plan. 82% met one of their individual growth goals for attendance. Students attended school on average 90% of the time. 80% achieved attendance rates of 85% and above. The Connecticut Opportunity Project continues to be beneficial to all classrooms statewide in order to increase student engagement.
Scholar's enthusiasm with assigned projects and how they gravitate toward creating their own illustrations in Adobe enables them to turn in quality work, but we do not have that quality printer in the lab or at home to make that happen, combating disengagement and incomplete work consistently. Adding a photo printer with extra ink and photo paper to my classroom would provide more opportunity to create.
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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 Mrs. Arconti-Galassi and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
