Metzger Elementary is home to the Metzger Mustangs, a bilingual public elementary school located in Tigard, Oregon.

Background: Metzger Elementary currently does not have an Art teacher. However, the Tigard Tualatin School District offers the Art Literacy program, where parents have the opportunity to teach art to their child’s classroom. The program teaches art by teaching about one artist per month and creating a project inspired by that artist. The Metzger program is completely supported by the school’s Parent Support Organization (PTA equivalent) and has a budget of $2,500 (that’s roughly $4 per student per year for art classes).

Work: My work has been to redesign the curriculum with a team of teachers centering a diversity of artists. As a team, we have chosen to teach through artist stories that represent and connect with the diversity of stories and students at Metzger. This program provides monthly art experiences for approximately 26 classrooms and over 550 students. While our program does not replace an art teacher, it does provide consistent opportunities for every child to make, experience and talk about art. We have currently developed new artists and lessons for 24 artists and have received RACC grant funding to develop another 24 artist story presentations.

We are also proud to have contributed to several public art experiences since 2021. We have contribute two art installations to Universal Plaza in in downtown Tigard. We also were able to send our artwork to over 450 residents in senior living homes in Oregon and Washington. This year, we are working on developing our own Loteria card game to share within our community.

Role: Coordinator/Program Manager, Curriculum Development, Art Advocate