Technology & Photography in ART

Hello!  My name is Teresa Lantz and I am an Art Teacher at North Valley Middle School in La Salle, CO. I am working hard to build a new middle school art program.  I am overwhelmed with the amount of support that the community has already given me.  When coming into this position I knew that I needed to focus on giving these students as many new opourtunities and mediums as posiible, and that has been my goal all year.    

So far I have implemented more enriching ceramic studio.  The kiln that had been broken for years was fixed and I brought pottery wheels into the art room for the first time.   It has been such an awarding experience to see the students flourish with these new items.  I also took the students on their first ever art field trip.  Where they got to go to the University of Northern Colorado and explore their studios for art making and oncampus galleries.   Some students reflected to me that they had never been in an art gallery before and it was amazing.  

I want to keep building apon these experiences and enhance the art education with the students. The money that I am raising will be to buy a class set of cameras, tripods, new technology gagits and computer programs.  Some computer programs that I hope to gain will give students a taste for for digital editing and imaging and graphic designs.   Several students do not have computers at home and I am hoping that I can give them a enough that it will guide their interest through high school and hopfully on to college.  I believe that middle school is the most important level of education where career choices need to be introduced.  

I hope to raise the money by the begining of next school year so that I can affectivly add this to our curriculum. I am also looking to expand other areas of the art room with a jewlery and sculpture station.

As an art educator my goals are always surrounded around giving   the students as enriching and rewarding experience as possible.  My curriculum is based off of creative practices and studio-based progrects with various mediums.  I have a passion to create a safe environment where students can take responsible risks and experience new things.   I know  that I, as well as the the students of NVMS, would for ever be grateful to everyone that helps provided these new enrichments for them.