As the LITT at Whitford, I have had a great opportunity to connect with kids for reasons different from when I was in the classroom daily. They have skills that aren't always recognized in the class.  The responsibility of the LITT (Library Instructional Technology Teacher) is to work with teachers and students to help them innovate their practice by using technology to teach essential skills and providing new opportunities. As we have just been able to give our library a make-over we have many more students coming in during the day to use our space.  Within this space, I would like to provide another way for students to shine, connect with their school, and be identified.  

Our students love to create: they draw and doodle on any surface they can find.  Our newly donated library tables are covered and recovered daily with new designs, patterns, and messages. Additionally, I ran a logo design competition for our school's soccer club that had multiple entries.  The winning design, by the way, was done by a student who is not known for his classwork.   It was great to see his face when he saw his design on the shirts 100 kids were wearing.  What you can see is that students are eager to create and the esteem it builds is immeasurable.

This got me thinking:  What a unique experience we could provide if we gave all the students a more formalized opportunity to express their ideas, a risk-free opportunity to design, evaluate, redesign and succeed.  What if we created  digital designs? What if they learned how to transform these designs into something  tangible?  What if we incorporated the engineering/design thinking from science, the art learning targets, while reinforcing technology skills . . . and produce some really cool, kid-made stuff in the process.  We should create a digital design program at Whitford!  

Through this design studio, students will learn  computer design and build  career skills , but the soul of our project is in the design and creation of art.  As exciting as the maker movement is, I can't help but notice it's very heavy on robotics and coding.  Art is a human element, and everybody should have a chance to say something with theirs.  This project allows for both the tech world and the art world to work together and is accessible to any student with an idea.

The money we are asking for is to provide the raw materials needed to create our decals, screens, and shirts.  A heat press and print station make this a more professional operation, allowing us to produce for clubs, teams, and other groups, not just individuals.  A resource for my own education comes in the way of a former student of mine who designs shoes for Olukai and customizes cleats for NFL players (he customized shoes in college for fun, then a side job, and now it's his career).  I would like to include an Artist in Residence fee for his help with our students.  We have the computers and the software is free, so we just need the materials, machinery, and a little more extra expertise.

Budget for our design studio:

Iglobalbuy 4 Color 1 Station 21.7”x17.7” Silk Screen Printing Machine & Flash Dryer 18" X 18" Dying:  $310

Heat Press:  $158.99

6 Aluminum Silk Screen Printing Press Screens 156 Frame Mesh 18" x 20": $97.44

Silhouette Cameo Screen Printing Bundle with Extra Paints:  $89.99

Speedball Art Products Speedball Fabric Screen Printing Ink, Black (4600), 32 Fl. oz:  $24.33

Speedball Art Products Speedball Fabric Screen Printing Ink, White (4600), 32 Fl. oz $26.79

Heat Transfer Vinyl HTV for T-Shirts 12 Inches by 12 Feet Roll (White):  $18.99

Heat Transfer Vinyl HTV for T-Shirts 12 Inches by 12 Feet Roll (Black): $18.99

148 Glidden shirts  (youth and adult sizes xs-l in black, blue, and white): $380

Artist in Residence fee $100

Total $1225.52

Thank you for considering our project.

 Tyler Smith

LITT Whitford MS