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Ms. Cook's Classroom

  • Reach - Partnership School 341
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Nearly all students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

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Past projects 16

  • Art and Literacy: Building an Art Classroom Library

    Funded Nov 30, 2022

    Please accept my apologies for how late I am on this thank you note. It has been a tough year! My students and I have SO appreciated your generosity in helping us to build an art library for our research and further art learning. Thanks to your donations to make my project a reality, students have had access to full color images of a variety of artists' works from throughout the world and throughout history, as well as access to rich texts critiquing and explaining different types of artwork. These resources have provided an excellent background for students to build on as they have learned about art history, studied a wide variety of artists and used their learning to create new works.

    In particular, the books on contemporary portrait artist Kehinde Wiley proved extremely popular among students this year as we created our own self-portraits based on portrait works of the "old masters." Students read about and studied how Wiley utilizes poses from portraits of white royalty and white people of the nobility as a reference for creating new works that substitute everyday Black people in those same poses, thus placing people of color in the context of art history. Having texts to study helped students understand the how and why related to the creation of Wiley's work, which then helped them create their own pieces with backgrounds based on rococo and baroque pattern and self-selected portrait poses based on works of the "old masters." I look forward to continuing to utilize these resources with many more students over the years to come. Thank you for making this very important library possible!”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cook

    This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 13 other donors.
  • Cleaning and Hygiene Supplies Keep Us Safe in the Classroom!

    Funded Jan 12, 2023

    Thank you SO very much for supporting my classroom with this project. Thanks to your generous donations, we were able to get supplies to help keep our classroom safe and healthy.

    Your support allowed students to get access to soap for hand washing and touch less soap dispensers to help avoid sharing germs. Our new drying rack for art supplies helps us keep the whole sink area clean. The new shop vac has allowed us to keep our carcinogenic clay dust to a minimum, which means we can work with clay more safely.

    All of these things were only possible through your support. My students and I appreciate you very much!”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cook

  • Students Need Art Supplies for Art Class!

    Funded Nov 30, 2021

    Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart, for your generous support in funding this important project to bring much needed materials to all of my amazing art students. Thanks to your donations, 135 students have been able to try out new materials they have never experienced before, like oil pastels, watercolor pencils, collage and shading pencils, and I have been able to provide students out on quarantine with materials to use in completing the assignments they have missed.

    When our new materials started to arrive one box at a time, my students eagerly opened each one and peered inside to see what had arrived. They were beyond excited to see all of the different types of media they would be able to try thanks to you, and they immediately started planning what projects they could do using their new supplies.

    The materials you helped my students receive have opened up their minds to new possibilities in their artwork. Thank you so much for all you have done to contribute to their learning. Without you, so much artwork would not have happened this year. I appreciate you more than you know.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cook

    This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 38 other donors.
  • We Need Art Supplies for Online Art Class!

    Funded Dec 1, 2020

    Let me begin by saying THANK YOU so much for your generosity toward my students and our classroom. ONLY because of your help, I was able to provide my students with individual supply kits during virtual and hybrid learning, allowing them to engage with the creative, hands-on part of art class. Without your help, students would have spent the majority of our instructional time learning about artistic concepts and skills without being able to actually practice any of them. Because of your support, students had pencils, drawing paper, texts, oil pastels, watercolor paints, paint brushes, scissors, glue and more! These materials were key to the process of teaching art in the context of COVID. You are appreciated. If you are able, please continue to support my classroom in the future. It's support from our community that makes the best possible learning happen for my students.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cook

    This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 10 other donors.
  • We Need Art Supplies and Books for Art Class!

    Funded May 6, 2020

    Before completing this DonorsChoose project, my students' online learning consisted mostly of watching videos or reading articles and then writing responses or answering questions in Google Forms. Because not all students had access to art supplies, and because many students were taking classes with only a smartphone as their technology, I had to keep our classwork simple and digital. There was not one thing ALL students could access - not even a pencil or paper.

    Thanks to your generosity, I have been able to provide my students with a variety of art supplies to allow them to engage with the actual creation of artwork during online art classes. Participation in online class sessions immediately more than doubled once I was able to show students how to use art supplies to create work. Our school budget has been frozen, so this was the only way I could get these hands-on supplies to students for use during virtual learning. Thank you so much for helping to provide these key supplies to my students. They are genuinely appreciated by me and by all of my students.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cook

    This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 25 other donors.
  • Help Us Build Our Art Library and Studio!

    Funded Dec 3, 2019

    Thank you so much for supporting my classroom! Thanks to you, we have received a class set of the book 365 Days of Drawing: Sketch and Paint your Way Through the Creative Year, a variety of other books about drawing and a new printer! All of these items have been integral to my ongoing process of improving my school's visual art program for my amazing students.

    In particular, the book 365 Days of Drawing has had a huge impact on my students in the new Drawing and Painting 1 course this year. Student investment in homework assignments is typically a struggle at my school, but this year, thanks to your generosity, my art students were able to receive their own copies of this exciting book full of a wide variety of drawing and painting exercises. As a result of being able to have the full color book to work in, my students' homework completion has gone through the roof! They have been EXCITED to complete homework assignments because they get to keep the book to document all of their hard work and progress toward learning new skills with new art media. They are inspired by having books of their own, which wouldn't have happened without your help.

    Another key item this project provided for us is the wireless printer. As you can see from some of the photos, my students often use photo references when they are working on projects, and research is a key component of creating high quality artwork (not to mention a valuable academic skill). The wireless printer has allowed students to research and print their own references instead of always having to wait for me to print items for them (which usually takes until the next day). Having access to the printer has allowed them to speed up their work process and has resulted in less wasted time in the classroom, which means MORE ART!

    Finally, my artists have been inspired by the new infusion of drawing and painting books in our classroom library. Multiple students have already spent their lunch periods learning new techniques because they are so excited about the new texts. This much-needed boost to our library has offered my students new ideas for their projects, and will continue to impact the classroom for years to come.

    We cannot thank you enough for your support. Please keep an eye out for more projects from our classroom. We are always pushing ourselves to learn and do more.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cook

    This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 17 other donors.
  • Help! Art Class in Need of Flat Surfaces for Drawing!

    Funded May 10, 2019

    Thank you SO much for helping to provide my classroom with drawing boards for my students. Having these boards makes it possible for us to do better observational drawing, to take our artwork outside the classroom (the pictures show us using mirrors in a dance studio for self portrait works), and to use larger paper than we previously could. Students are really excited to have access to new and different materials that real artists use in their studios when they make work. Thanks to your generosity, we now have flat surfaces for sketching, for drawing straight lines, and for taking our work on the go. I'm especially looking forward to taking students outdoors to use the drawing boards as we learn about landscape in coming weeks. Thank you for helping to make this possible. Your support is appreciated. Please remember to check out my next classroom project here on DonorsChoose and to spread the word and share with others!”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cook

    This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 8 other donors.
  • Art and Literacy: A Perfect Fit!

    Funded Aug 22, 2018

    I had no idea just how much my students would need these supplies.

    When I wrote this project in May, I was assuming I'd be coming into my new school with at least the basics - paper, some markers and pencils, etc. As it turned out, the only supplies I had to use with my students until the first week of October were the ones YOU helped provide and what I had purchased out of pocket. Because I had the materials funded by your generous donations, we were able to move into our Zentangle project (which is what you see in the pictures I've posted).

    The first step of the process involved lessons about line as an element of art and student practice with drawing different types of line. The rulers and pencils from this project were crucial right away for student success. Students then used those supplies again to measure and draw borders on their drawing paper. Next they had the option of tracing different initials onto their large paper. For this part of the process, the new light tables were an amazing help, especially for students (there are more than a few) who need but don't have glasses.

    Students used the books you helped provide to research patterns and processes to use in their works, and many chose to incorporate Sharpie markers (again thanks to your generosity) to add bright color to their patterns. None of this would've been possible without DonorsChoose and YOU, the donors who make their work possible.

    If you enjoyed seeing what we accomplished with this project, please look out for future projects from my classroom. My students have so many ideas they want to bring to fruition!”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cook

    This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 29 other donors.
  • Help Us Start Making Art!

    Funded Nov 16, 2017

    It is with tremendous gratitude that I write to thank you for making my Donors Choose project a success. Moving suddenly mid- school year into a new school AND new content area is one of the most challenging tasks I've had to struggle through in my teaching career. When I learned that my new school had never had a fine art teacher, so no art room and no art supplies, I had to get creative quickly in order to allow my students to learn about and make art. My classroom was an old science lab. Thanks to the addition of the art standards, elements of art and principles of design posters and prints of master works (purchased through your generous donations), we have a real art room where students are able to see exemplars and as a result have been able to create some truly amazing work. When students entered my classroom for the first time, they were amazed at the transformation that had taken place in the formerly empty space. Having a room set up for them that reflected my high academic expectations set the tone for us to create serious work and a strong learning environment. Students immediately knew that this is a place where their teacher cares about them and they are expected to learn!

    The other materials that were donated as part of this project have been crucial in setting up my art students for success. We used the sketching pencils and erasers in the first phase of our recent Zentangle project. The sketchbooks I've distributed to those current students who are very passionate about drawing so that they can do at home extension projects. Next semester (beginning next week) I will have the schools middle school students for the remainder of the year, and they will receive the remainder of the sketchbooks for their home drawing assignments.

    I am looking forward to continuing to make excellent use of the materials you've helped me to bring into our classroom. The paper cutter, which just arrived mid-January, will be used frequently to prepare materials for upcoming student projects. My middle schoolers will be starting with autobiographical collage art and then will work with Op Art next month so that they can create their own optical illusions. They'll also be using all different grades of drawing pencils from our classroom pencil set to learn about line, value and texture.

    None of this would've been possible without your donations. On behalf of myself and my students, thank you for helping to find our project and help us start making art!”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cook

  • Create a Refuge for Struggling Readers!

    Funded Dec 12, 2015

    The materials that were so generously donated to my classroom this year allowed our school's new reading intervention class to get off to a positive start for the struggling readers for whom it was designed. Students who arrived for the new class were greeted with new materials and a comfortable, inviting place to learn, complete with new binders, homey lamp light and positive, motivational posters on the walls. As young adults, these students were hesitant to begin a new course that singled them out as needing reading intervention. Many were nervous when they first came to their new classroom, but the homey atmosphere created by the new materials we received helped them feel comfortable right away and helped them get ready to learn.

    The new binders pens, highlighters and post-its we received helped students get and stay organized in this new class, and the reading nook I was able to make with the rug and lamps helped them become more comfortable and enjoy independent reading more. Without these materials, it would have been much more challenging to get my reluctant students to buy into their new reading intervention class.

    I am very happy to report that all of the students in the course this year made major improvements in their reading because of the new program. Our classroom became a place that teachers and administrators from across our district have come to observe because of the success we are seeing. I firmly believe that part of the success we have seen is due to the time and energy that was spent setting up this new space for the students so they would feel special in their comfortable new reading haven. The program will be continued next year and expanded, so many more students will be able to benefit from the materials that were received due to the generous folks who donated to this important project. Thank you - you make a difference!”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Cook

Our school is a mid sized high-poverty urban public school that serves students in grades 9-12. I was recently moved to a new school to teach in a new content area (art) after spending the last 16 years teaching English. My new school has limited resources to support our visual arts program, so I am building an art program using the resources I can muster. Supporting my classroom will help to improve instruction by providing the materials that we simply cannot afford to buy in order to allow our students to reach their highest potential. This school year, my art students will be working with a special focus on literacy through art. Thank you for considering supporting our classroom!

About my class

Our school is a mid sized high-poverty urban public school that serves students in grades 9-12. I was recently moved to a new school to teach in a new content area (art) after spending the last 16 years teaching English. My new school has limited resources to support our visual arts program, so I am building an art program using the resources I can muster. Supporting my classroom will help to improve instruction by providing the materials that we simply cannot afford to buy in order to allow our students to reach their highest potential. This school year, my art students will be working with a special focus on literacy through art. Thank you for considering supporting our classroom!

About my class

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