Subs with Suitcases

Mosaic made in high school Latin class

Subs with SuitCASEs – Creative Approaches to Substitute Education - serves our local public schools’ need for well-trained, highly-prepared substitute teachers who deliver compelling, relevant materials and provide outstanding arts-based education to K-12 students.  Equipped with a suitcase stocked with art supplies, participating teaching artists are fully prepared to provide a wide range of substituting possibilities.  Ready to implement educational activities left by teachers, they can spontaneously integrate art activities into the prepared lesson plan, and – with advance notice – they can plan special art lessons that tie directly into the current curriculum.  Drawing on the magical qualities of the suitcase, an icon of possibility and anticipation, substitute days turn into creative opportunities that enliven curriculum and engage students with multiple learning styles – resulting in memorable time well spent.

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.

Evaluation for the Subs with SuitCASEs program was designed in collaboration with UNC-Asheville education faculty. Every sub must complete the official approval process for subs in their County of service.  Subs with SuitCASEs teachers are compensated by the school system at the standard rate, and when they offer art as part of a substitute teaching day, they are provided with an additional $50 stipend through Penland to offset materials and time planning special art activities.

To learn more about Subs with SuitCASEs teaching artists, visit our “teaching artist profiles.”  To learn more about what’s been happening in the classroom, click here to ”see what our subs are doing.”  For additional information contact communityeducation@penland.org.

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.

Subs with SuitCASEs is supported in part by a generous grant from United Way of Mitchell County.

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.