Over the past 4 years, I have attended the following professional development sessions:
DOE Chancellor’s Day
TCIS training
Arts for All Abilitites Consortium annual conference
CRSE: Collaborative Mural Making in partnership with D75 and MoMA
Various OTIS Educator sessions
Brain Power wellness training
National Art Education Association national conference
MOTP Advance Ratings:
2021-2022: 2.80
2022-2023: 3.36
2023-2024: 3.43
2024-2025: 3.66
*based on observation average score
Sending home student artwork is one of my favorite ways to communicate with families. Knowing that their families will be proud of the work their student created brings me joy, and I love seeing the pride in the students’ faces when they share the artwork they’ve worked so hard on.
Girls Group
The counseling department hosts a weekly club session called “Girls Group,” and I am often invited to lead a session. Past sessions include a painting workshop and bracelet making.
School Beautification and Event Signage
Art students work collaboratively to create seasonal and event signage.
Bulletin Boards
Bulletin boards are a great way for me to showcase the work my students have been making.
Photography
Before becoming a teacher, I worked as a photographer. I enjoy putting these skills to work to support my school. I take photos of staff and students for the yearbook, and photograph special days like graduation.
Staff Presentations
Each year, staff are invited to share their thoughts and expertise on a topic of their choosing in a presentation that is shared with the entire school community. Topics that I have shared my thoughts on include: AI generation of lesson ideas for a book of the month, Gee’s Bend Quilts cross-curricular lessons, sourcing and incorporating art in the classroom, and design tips for classroom and lesson resources.
Arts Organizations
Over the past few years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with multiple arts providers. These organizations employ teaching artists to push into schools and provide hands-on learning that I may not be able to provide.
Two of these organizations are Building Beats and Marquis Studios. For more information about my work with Marquis Studios, see our Stop-Motion Animation project. Below, learn about our work with Building Beats.
Building Beats
I applied for and was awarded a $15,000 grant from the Office of Arts and Special Projects for Multilingual Learners and Students with Disabilities. These funds allowed me to bring in a teaching artist from Building Beats, an organization that provides hands-on instruction for music, producing, and podcasts. During this residency, students learned how to mix and create their own music.
Art Exhibitions
Art 75 Exhibition
Students from MSCD have been selected for a juried exhibition that is organized by the District 75 art department. For the 2024 exhibition, student Jariel Morang (artwork above) was selected, and his art was featured on the exhibition poster.
