School Name:Alternative Schools Immokalee: Beacon, Pheonix, New Beginnings, TAP
Grant Request Grade:9-12
Grant Request Subject:Other
Additional Details
For the last three years students have produced a yearbook for the Pace Center for Girls Collier at Immokalee (a public alternative school in Immokalee for girls who have experienced trauma and are underperforming in their community school due to trauma related social, emotional, or mental health needs). The first year we had one camera that broke near the end of the year. There has not been available funding to replace it. Last year and the year before we use cell phone cameras to take photos for our yearbook. The photographs are decent and the yearbooks are small (about 40 pages), but part of the curriculum for the journalism/yearbook credit includes some basic photography and camera knowledge. They learn the techniques but are currently unable to practice them. The goal with funding is to provide students the opportunity to practice what they learn in the classroom with intermediate level cameras (and related equipment: bags, straps, batteries, memory cards, etc.) to offer broader options with the settings than a cell phone does; to practice the settings and angles we talk about that create mood for yearbook pages and allow them to participate in taking portraits of fellow students. Due to our students past trauma, many girls are very uncomfortable with adults or people they don't know well photographing them, but they are very relaxed with their peers. Having student photographers would make it so much easier and digital cameras would really help with quality photos for our yearbook project this year.
As they learn the art and techniques of photography, students will be taking the portraits and candid shots for the Yearbook. They also create the pages and layouts for the yearbook before participating in photo selection to best represent the school year. Students who are in the Journalism/Yearbook class learn principals of photography including, lighting, composition, framing, contrast, balance, editing. They also learn production and design including organization and page layouts, text features, quotes, and interviews. The lessons and activities they engage in are graded and students may earn the fine art credit required for high school graduation.
Students education in any setting should be positive and productive. They should have the chance to look back at their time in an alternative school environment much in the same way with access to the classes and memories of traditional public school, they are provided with a way to celebrate and foster good memories and productive learning to earn the credits needed for graduation. They have a chance to develop their creativity and build skills while they explore how to shape, express, and create a photo journal story of the school year. Most students find new forms of artistic expression in photography or layout and design. This is one of only two classes that we are able to offer for students to earn their fine art credit for graduation - a huge benefit for our upper class students who need to meet the graduation requirement.
To create the portrait studio effect will require a frame and photo background $150.00, LED studio lights w/ stand $100.00, photography quality digital cameras $600.00 (3 cameras/$200. each), SD cards and card reader (to upload photos) $150.00, camera bags (safe transport and storage of equipment) $100.00, Yearbook production costs $900
$2000 total cost
2000.00
Three (3) intermediate grade digital cameras (200.00/each)
