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

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 $1,500 - $2,500 (that’s roughly $2.50 - $4.00 per student per year for art classes).

My work with the Art Literacy program was to redesign the curriculum with a team of teachers centering a diversity of modalities, mediums, and 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 625 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. Our program received RACC funding to fully develop our artist line up 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. We have also had local artist visit Metzger, share their work, and talk about being an artist.

We are proud that we were able to deliver our full art curriculum through out the COVID pandemic by offering video lessons, work books, and take home art supplies. We also decorated our walls with artwork painted and photographed by our teachers and staff. Throughout the school you will find inspiring messages painted in both English and Spanish.

Role: Coordinator/Program Manager, Curriculum Designer, Workbook Designer, Art Advocate

Accordion books inspired by the artwork of local Portland artist, Lisa Congdon.

Lisa Congdon bulletin board. Each month we focus on a new artist.

Our Pep Talk Poster Project was displayed during Tigard Art Week in a local store front. Festival goers were able to make their own Pep Talk or take one of our student’s pep talk posters.

These seniors citizens throughout Oregon and Washington proudly show the artwork they received from our students to decorate their rooms in their assisted living facility.

Third Grade students sorting and preparing artwork to deliver to seniors throughout Oregon and Washington.

Student artwork displayed in Tigard’s Universal Plaza as a part of the city’s art activation for this space prior to it’s development as a community space.

These images are from our custom Lotería deck. Each grade level received 5-10 prompts and we selected the best from each grade level to be in the final deck. Our deck includes images that represent things students would find at an elementary school, Oregon specific things (salmon, meadowlark, sunstone), and images that represent Metzger’s values and culture.