2015-2016 Mini-Grant Recognition

It’s a scene one might expect from an art show – paper mache clouds hanging from the ceiling, ceramic figures, paintings and other art forms mirroring the ideas and art of Dali and Magritte. It was a room full of imagination brought on by the era of surrealism.

What makes this art show unique is that the art show was installed in a space on the campus of San Fernando High School. It was the result of hard work by a team of teachers utilizing the Educator Mini-Grant from the LAUSD School Improvement Grant (SIG) office. The SIG Educator Mini-Grant provided funding that allowed teachers the time to work together to plan their project. The additional time also allowed for the detailed articulation on guiding the student’s work as well as presenting the art show.

Having an art show was always something Tarah Davis, the art teacher at San Fernando High School, wanted to accomplish with her students. “Initially, I just wanted to take the art my students had been working on and put it into a show,” said Tarah Davis.  “Hearing about the Educator Mini-Grant opportunity pushed me to plan the art show and work with a team of teachers who would be willing to work on this project for the sake of the students.” Once the teachers met, the theme for the project and art show became Surrealism.

The teachers that were part of the mini-grant project were Tarah Davis - Art, Robert Stromoski - Ceramics, Ralph Beas - Digital Arts, Tina Hartounian - Culinary Arts, Wayne Gruenfelder - Tech and Design, and Patrick Long - Wood Shop. They all worked together to put the show together. 

February 22, 2016 was the opening night, students and parents crowded into the show, enjoying the paintings, ceramics and other art done by the students.  Some students created displays that explained the history of Surrealism and Dadism, while the culinary arts students displayed their unique take on cupcakes.

“When Tarah asked me if I was interested in having my culinary arts students participate in this show, I immediately said yes,” said Hartounian.  “We then spent quite a bit of time discussing surrealism and how we might create cupcakes that reflected that genre.  The kids came up with amazing ideas.”

“It was really interesting to see what everyone’s take was on the genre, and how the kids really got into it.  It’s seeing the excitement of the kids that makes teaching such a great profession” said Davis.