Art Supplies and Dance Classes

Hello!

As most of you know, I am a High School Visual and Performing Arts Teacher in New York at Manhattan Business Academy (MBA), a Title 1 Public School in Manhattan. I truly love what I do and want my students to have the opportunity to explore different mediums that will help expand their knowledge and experiences of art. Many of them have never taken an art class before walking into my classroom because they come from underprivileged backgrounds or schools with a lack of resources. Unfortunately, although MBA is very supportive of the arts, the budget allocated for the arts is unfortunately not enough. I want to raise money to provide students with an in-depth art curriculum with a breadth of mediums that will allow them to experiment with materials they have never used before. I am an advocate for social justice and use that as the thread of my pedagogy when it comes to teaching art to my students. I want them to understand that art is more than a pretty picture hanging on a wall and that it can be used to bring awareness to and change issues and inequities in society today.

These are some things I'm hoping to accomplish:

-Materials for watercolor unit (about $15 per student)

-Materials for block printmaking unit (about $30 per student)

-Individual drawing materials/sketchbook (about $15 per student)

-Canvases and paint (about $25 per student)

-Quality colored pencils for various units (about $15 per student)

-Motors and battery holders for art/stem unit (about $7 per student)

-Money to take students to dance classes outside of school. This is very important to me as I know how expensive it is to receive formal training. Many students taking classes at studios like Broadway Dance Center, Peridance Capezio Center, Ripley Grier, Brickhouse, etc. are often awarded scholarships or have the funds to be able to attend regularly. I want to give my students a competitive edge by taking some of these classes themselves. ($22 per student per class)

Whether it's $1 or $500, every dollar will work towards helping today's youth learn and appreciate visual and performing arts in ways they may not be able to otherwise. Thank you so much for taking the time to look at my campaign!