Parent Teacher Magazine Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools September 2014 | Page 11

Recycling phones to buy CMS classroom supplies

AT&T, DonorsChoose.org partnership helps CMS

This summer rang in a new
partnership between CharlotteMecklenburg Schools and AT&T in
Charlotte. Through Sept. 11, AT&T will
donate $5 to Donors Choose.org every
time a customer recycles or trades in
an eligible device. Donors Choose is a
charity that supports projects initiated
by teachers for classrooms in need.
Donations such as old cell phones will be
accepted at Charlotte-area stores. The
communications company will donate up
to $25,000 for this cause, which will help
keep cell phones out of the landfill.
For trade-in phones that still have
value, customers will also receive a
promotional card that can be used towards the
purchase of AT&T products or services.
In 2013, AT&T collected approximately 4.5 million
cell phones for reuse and recycling, in addition to
recycling 487,000 pounds of cell phone batteries and
accessories. The company also provides an eco-rating
for many phones sold in its stores.
According to the Environmental Protection
Agency, 89 percent of mobile devices are not
recycled. The trade-in program aims to reduce that
number while also supporting local teachers and
students.
Since its inception in April 2000, DonorsChoose.org has raised more than $240 million and
helped nearly 11.5 million students. It has funded more than 460,000 projects.

Hidden Valley Elementary
receives Murals for Literacy
Grant
Hidden Valley Elementary Media Coordinator Liliet
Council recently received the Murals for Literacy Grant
that will create a new learning and reading space for
students. Council will co-teach with the visual arts
teacher for brainstorming Hidden Valley Media Specialist
Liliet Council sessions, art style research and critique
sessions. Students from all grade-levels select their
favorite images to be included in the mural. Modern
illustrators’ work will be explored such as Ezra Jack
Keats, E.B. Lewis, Eric Carle, Jeff Kinney, Norman
Bridwell and Victoria Kann. Students will create their
own illustrations emulating the styles of these famous
illustrators. Student work will be displayed in a gallery
below the large murals and showcase student art work.
Hidden Valley art teacher Karah Scott lends a
hand in painting the school’s mural. “Beautiful murals
of students reading with book characters would be
a creative student-driven project that will inspire
creativity, a love for reading and school pride in a way
that these students have never experienced,” says
Council. This project naturally builds from commitments
made at an early professional development course that
seven educators at Hidden Valley attended at Atlanta’s
Ron Clark Academy in December of 2013.
Hidden Valley visual arts teachers Cameron Kayton
and Karah Scott are the artists for the larger mural.

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Parent Teacher Magazine • Sept/Oct 2014 • 9