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Ms. Amy Raymond
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Excel High School
Class Information:
Room Number: 003
Students per Class: 40
Class Description:
Here at Room 13 Boston we believe in the potential of every young person to be a leader, creator, and innovator. Using the Room 13 International's four pillars of learning (Creative Freedom, Entrepreneurship,Reciprocal Learning, and Inquiry) we seek to support students in their creative journey by showing them that they CAN create amazing things, CAN think deeply about events in the world, and CAN be responsible for their learning, to themselves, and to each other.
Position:
Artist-In-Residence
Needs:
Our school is dramatically under-resourced. This year we've been placed into Turnaround and students are grappling with the school-wide changes along with continued lack of resources than students in suburban schools have access to. Our school's technology is out of date or just plain broken. When my program arrived the in-school arts programs had been all but eliminated. This means that programs you would expect to find in a High School: Drama, Music, Yearbook, etc. did not exist prior to our programs start at the school in 2015. We are slowly working our way to functioning programs, but most require a capital contribution at the start. The more access students receive to basic tools and materials, the more their ideas about what they are capable of grow.
My Philosophy:
I believe that students hold the power to change their world, but that they often aren't able to see that in themselves. I seek to create environments that not only teaches skills, but shows them the real-world worth of those skills, and how they can leverage them to create opportunities for themselves. Our class is setup like an independent study lab. Students come in each day and find a self-directed project to work on using the resources available to them. This means on a given day we can have students in the same room engaged in: robotics, sewing a dress, painting a large-scale mural, wood burning, carpentry, or writing a script.
Personal Information:
About Me:
I'm first and foremost a maker and creative problem solver. I've been working professionally in the arts since I was 15 years old, and am as committed as ever to the revolutionary power and connection the arts can bring. I'm a working Technical Director for Themed Entertainment design firms (theme parks, museum exhibits, events, etc), and also an Artist-In-Residenceat Excel High School in South Boston MA. At Excel I founded a branch that is part of the international Room 13 program. A network of independently run art and design studios.
College and Degrees:
BFA in Theatre from California Institute of the Arts Ed.M in Arts in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education
Activities:
Drama Club, Yearbook, Robotics, Visual Art, Carpentry and Metalwork, Programming, Industrial Design. I don't do too much outside of school.
Favorite Quotes:
"Education is not preparation for life, but life itself." - John Dewey
Employment History:
Room 13 Boston: Excel High School, High Tech High Chula Vista, On Track Themes, Mycotoo, and Thinkwell Design.
Why Do I Teach?:
I seek to make the world a better place through experiential storytelling. In my classroom I want students to feel excited, empowered, and engaged. I encourage student voice in project/product design and strive to have students in my class know their ideas matter. In design, I focus on guest experience and the evolution of a narrative. I place emphasis on immersion, discovery, and accessibility. In any project, I want those who participate to feel an integral part of the experience and curious about what happens next.
Percent of Students are:
     Special Needs: 84 %
Percent of Students are:
     White/Caucasian : 13 %
     Hispanic: 23 %
     African American: 38 %
     Native American: 1 %
     Asian: 23 %
Free/Reduced Lunch Program Enrollment:: 71 %
ESL Enrollment:: 53 %
Average number of students in class:: 10 students
Number of students I teach:: 40 students