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LYNN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Program links students with partners to learn practical, life skills

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As part of a new Las Cruces initiative that connects classrooms with community partners, more than 350 students at Lynn Middle School are learning life and academic skills by making recycled projects, which will be showcased to the public through a virtual gallery starting March 17.

Working with Lynn art teacher Stephanie Preciado-Shelton and consumer science teacher Tif Valles and other community instructors and supporters, the Lynn students are creating a range of self-selected projects that use recycled materials, with many projects focusing on blankets for Mesilla Valley Community of Hope or a recycled art and fashion show, titled “Lynn Middle School Virtual Showcase (Student-led Recycled Art, Fashion and Media).”

The project is the first school-based program to launch through Community Partners in Education (CPE), a grant-funded initiative working to improve educational outcomes by connecting teachers and students with knowledge and resources from the community. CPE initiatives include CommunityShare and Hazlo (www.hazlofoundation.org), which connects students with mentors, tools and funds to complete projects chosen by individual students.

CPE is coordinated by Cruces Creatives, Las Cruces Community Schools and CommunityShare. It is funded by Las Cruces Community Schools and the Stocker Foundation.

Through the work of making and documenting their projects, students are learning and using skills like geometry, integrated language arts and product lifecycle design, as well as skills like how to paint, sew, fix zippers and buttons, recycle paper and make and use natural dyes.

“People are thinking students aren’t learning in this environment,” Valles said, but the student projects “showcase all the amazing things kids are doing.”

Community members can support the project in several ways:

  • Sharing skills and knowledge with students by signing up on CommunityShare Las Cruces (www.communityshare.us/las-cruces/), a nonprofit, free-to-use platform that connects teachers with community members who can support education.
  • Donating prizes for students.

To coordinate a material or prize donation, contact CPE Community Engagement and Education Coordinator Abby Nayra at a.nayra@crucescreatives.org.

For more information about the recycled art projects, contact Stephanie Preciado-Shelton at spreciado@lcps.net or Valles at tvalles@lcps.net. For more information about CPE, contact Program Coordinator Patrick DeSimio at p.desimio@crucescreatives.org.

Lynn Middle School, Community Partners in Education

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