Subs with Suitcases

Mosaic made in high school Latin class

Subs with SuitCASEs – Creative Approaches to Substitute Education – draws on the magical qualities of the suitcase, an icon of possibility and anticipation. Our teaching artists are equipped with teaching skills, learning activities, and actual suitcases stocked with art supplies, making them engaging, effective substitute teachers with special lessons that integrate the arts.

 Participating teaching artists are all professional studio artists who also have experience working with children. In addition, they all have extensive training specifically for this program, including:

• Effective Teacher Training – a 24-hour class in collaboration with Mayland Community College
• Continuing education seminars at Penland School of Crafts with our professional trainer, Mimi Herman, a writer and teaching artist
• Hands-on professional development workshops
• A mentorship with an experienced classroom teacher
• Ongoing evaluation and feedback designed by Mark Sidelnick, Professor of Education at UNC-Asheville
• Ongoing staff and peer support through Penland’s Teaching Artist Network and The Arts Matter, a group that meets monthly to help further arts education in Mitchell County.

Subs with SuitCASEs answers our local public schools’ need for well-trained, highly-prepared substitute teachers who deliver compelling, relevant materials while providing outstanding arts-based education to K-12 students. Participating teaching artists are prepared to teach in any classroom; they integrate art activities into the prepared lesson plan whenever possible, and – with advance notice – they can plan art lessons that tie directly into the current curriculum.

The mission of Penland School of Crafts is to support individual and artistic growth through craft.

Penland’s programs engage the human spirit which is expressed throughout the world in craft. Penland enriches lives by teaching skills, ideas, and the value of the handmade. Penland welcomes everyone–from vocational and avocational craft practitioners to interested visitors. Penland is a stimulating, transformative, egalitarian place where people love to work, feel free to experiment, and often exceed their own expectations. Penland’s beautiful location and historic campus inform every aspect of its work.

This project was supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

Funding for this program was provided by The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. The Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization that serves the 18-county mountain region by promoting and expanding regional philanthropy and making grants to nonprofits in the region.