Triad Alternative School - North in Sarasota, Florida on DonorsChoose

{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Triad Alternative School - North","outOfStateSupporters":8.3,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":8545961,"projectId":10024309,"letterContent":"Thank you once again for the $100 gift card to Teacher Pay Teachers. \r\nI will list some of the lessons that we have completed through the lessons I was inspired to find and purchase.\r\n1. Jean-Michel Basquiat Scratch Art Lesson\r\n2. Bansky Art Project\r\n3. Keith Haring Paper Stencil Print with Acrylic Paint.\r\n4. Clay Art Lessons with a focus on artists such as Ai Wei-Wei, and Maria Martinez.\r\n5. Etel Adnan Color Theory Landscape Project.\r\n\r\nEach lesson has been tremendously helpful for me to receive guidance and inspiration. In some cases I modify what I purchase to support my students. I love to build off of the ideas of others and having the opportunity to explore lessons other art educators have created has really given me room to grow and learn. I will say that my students found the clay unit to be very exciting and rewarding. Of course, each lesson has allowed us to create something new and different. I truly believe offering my students a variety of art mediums as well as introductions to diverse artists benefits everyone in our school art community.\r\n\r\nThese lessons are steppingstones for me and my students. We explore the mediums, themes, and art history together. So far the adventure has been a thrill. I am a patient educator and really take my time to find the right lessons that I believe will allow my students to be successful. I take pride in what we have accomplished this year. \r\n\r\nThis gift has given me room to breathe, and the opportunity to explore and discover what makes for great art lessons. I definitely feel that I have improved in my delivery of art instruction as well as increased my diversity of lessons that teach different artists and their styles of art. Needless to say, this year in art would not have been as successful without the help of the donors that have provided to my projects. Thank you once again for caring about us. Your generosity means so very much to me.","fullyFundedDate":1770078206134,"projectUrl":"project/supporting-creative-growth-through-quali/10024309/","projectTitle":"Supporting Creative Growth Through Quality Art Lessons","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Upholz","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp8545961_orig.png?crop=567,567,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1659705403080","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8545961"},{"teacherId":8545961,"projectId":9568670,"letterContent":"We are loving our experience with modeling and air drying clay at Triad Alternative School. We began our introduction to clay in alignment with studies around \"form as one of the foundational elements of art. Students experimented with creating 3 -dimensional forms using modeling clay. I gave students step by step picture instructions for building gnomes, cats, dogs, owls, and pigs. They absolutely loved it! \r\nWe are going to be using the modeling clay more in the near future for some author/illustrator Barbara Reid \"inspired\" modeling clay pictures. Barbara is fantastic with spreading the modeling clay on illustration board and creating pictures on a flat surface using this medium. The clay is soft and blends wonderfully! I can't wait to do this project with them!\r\nIn the meantime, we are exploring air-drying clay. We have several artist-inspired projects happening such as Maria Martinez inspired coiled vases, Ai Wei Wei inspired pinch pots, and August Rodin inspired human faces. I am sharing a few pictures that showcase some of the student's work as well as some action shots of them building and modeling.\r\nI am going to continue working with clay at this school as it is highly successful in capturing their interest and focus. Thank you for supporting us!","fullyFundedDate":1762267709672,"projectUrl":"project/healing-through-clay-empowering-at-risk/9568670/","projectTitle":"Healing Through Clay: Empowering At-Risk Students with Hands-On Art","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Upholz","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp8545961_orig.png?crop=567,567,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1659705403080","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8545961"},{"teacherId":8545961,"projectId":8376700,"letterContent":"It has been almost a year since I've been able to say thank you and share some photos of my art students and their introduction to pastel landscapes. \r\nI am very excited for my future students to continue using this medium. \r\nI am sharing some of our sunset landscape pictures as well as a few others that I wanted to highlight including a beach landscape and clouds. Many students enjoyed the blending aspect of this dry medium, but we certainly have a lot of work to do in learning technique and cleanliness with our compositions. Nonetheless, this project has done what I hoped it would which is expose students to using a different medium and provide them a beginner project that was manageable for them.\r\nAs I continue to grow more comfortable in this medium I will expand the use of the pastels to more projects in the coming year.\r\nI really do appreciate the help in funding our school with the basic supplies to \"lift us off the runway!\"","fullyFundedDate":1715370034239,"projectUrl":"project/project-pastel/8376700/","projectTitle":"Project Pastel!","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Upholz","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp8545961_orig.png?crop=567,567,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1659705403080","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8545961"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_67365","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":95,"numTeachers":20,"percentFrplEligible":89,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":41,"percentWhite":26,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":22,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"6 - 12","studentTeacherRatio":"4.8:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"SUBURBAN","ncesMetroType":"SUBURB_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":91.7,"schoolId":67365,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Triad Alternative School - North on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Triad Alternative School - North","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/florida/sarasota-county-school-district/ymca-triad-north-campus/67365"}

About this school

Triad Alternative School - North is a suburban public school in Sarasota, Florida that is part of Sarasota County School District. It serves 95 students in grades 6 - 12 with a student/teacher ratio of 4.8:1. Its teachers have had 20 projects funded on DonorsChoose.

Equity Focus School

Support towards this school will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Public School

Title 1

Grades 6 - 12

95 Students

20 Teachers

4430 Beneva Rd

Sarasota, FL 34233 View local requests

http://www.sarasota-ymca.org

Direct, proactive support

Empower teachers at Triad Alternative School - North to request what their students need.

Give to this school

Ms. Vero, a DonorsChoose teacher for 9 years.

Kindergarten teacher at PS81 - Robert J. Christen School in Bronx, NY

Triad Alternative School - North Teachers on DonorsChoose

DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for public school teachers.

Every donation funds real needs — pencils, books, lab equipment, art supplies, and more — helping students learn and thrive. We ship supplies directly to the school, and you'll see exactly where each dollar goes.

See how DonorsChoose works

Triad Alternative School - North Demographics

89%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

63%

of students are Black, Latino, Native American, or Asian

Schools in districts that mainly serve students of color receive substantially less state and local support than similar districts that serve primarily White students. Learn more about this gap, why it exists, and how you can help close it.

Triad Alternative School - North Support on DonorsChoose Last updated May 1, 2026

DonorsChoose makes it easy for anyone to help a teacher in need, moving us closer to a nation where students in every community have the tools and experiences they need for a great education.