Thanks to the generous commitment of MECU, one of our corporate donors, Arts Every Day remains adaptable to the needs of Baltimore City Public Schools. For the 2021-22 school year, the Arts Equipment Fund returned to supporting the purchase of big ticket items necessary for high quality fine arts instruction. Most school budgets cover only basic consumable supplies leaving arts teachers to fundraise or even pay out of pocket. The Arts Equipment Fund is open to schools district wide with priority given to Title 1 schools. Teachers apply with up to $5,000 equipment requests lists that fit their school’s specific needs and Arts Every Day purchases and ships the items to the school. From kilns and ballet barres to drying racks and keyboard kits, the Arts Equipment Fund expands the possibilities of art, music, theater, and dance classrooms across the city.
We’re grateful to MECU for their ongoing support of Arts Every Day and our mission. Keep reading if you want to hear more from a few of our teachers about how the Arts Equipment Fund transforms their classrooms!
SY 2021-22 Arts Equipment Fund Purchases:
- 25 Keyboard packages
- 5 heavy duty art tables
- 1 Stage lighting kit
- 3 Digital SLR camera kits
- 4 Microphone kits
- 1 storage rack
- 2 drying racks
- 1 freestanding easel
- 25 tabletop easels
- 1 display case for 3-D work
- 2 PA systems + Cables
- 2 Amplifiers
- 1 Bass xylophone
- 20 Orff percussion mallet packages
- 1 Djembe drum
- 2 cabasas (percussion)
- Hand printing press
- Kiln accessories
- Ballet barres for dance studio
Crossroads School: The purchase of tables for the art room will benefit my school and students by providing them with a sturdy and safe work surface for making artwork. The tables currently used in the art room are a smattering of mismatched hand-me-down tables that have seen better days. Despite attempts to repair the tables, several of the tables rock from side to side and back and forth. Some tables are missing laminate along the edges leaving unfinished edges exposed. These rough edges have been known to snag clothing, tear uniforms, and cause splinters. Other tables are old folding tables that have been known to collapse if a fidgety student plays with the hinges. Our budget each year is only large enough to cover the cost of art-making materials and there is no extra money in the budget for the purchase of expensive pieces such as new tables. Receiving new tables in the art room would be a huge win for students and would improve their overall learning experience.
Baltimore International Academy: Owning this type of equipment would be a dream come true for BIA. We have always wanted to maintain a piano lab as well as offer guitar to our students. These piano keyboards would not only make this dream come true, it would take it even a step further as these keyboards are able to act as MIDI controllers. We would then be able to successfully create a full-fledged music technology offering at BIA. The method books would also assist with this and the surge protectors are to help charge the keyboards. We would be able to utilize these pianos with the entire school rather than just the middle school due to their split feature.
James McHenry Elementary Middle: When our dance team, and students saw the dance bars, their faces lit up, they saw our buy-in and belief in their abilities to soar. These dance barres are the key element to strengthening and stretching muscles, flexibility, improving balance and proper alignment. Many of my dancers have never danced before and I immediately saw a difference in how the team began to move.