Students have an opportunity to work directly with local industry professionals and innovative teaching artists
KIDS is an architecture-based program offered to 3rd and 5th grade students where participants learn art and design concepts by way of exploring the built world. Participating students demonstrate newly acquired knowledge and skills by creating unique and imaginative structural models, and by engaging in thoughtful discussion with the teaching team and their peers.
Building Community Through Design: KIDS Challenge Inspires Young Creators
Students from four San Antonio Independent School District elementary schools gathered at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Downtown Campus to celebrate student accomplishments as part of the Kids Initiating Design Solutions (KIDS) Challenge.
KIDS brings teams of teaching artists and experienced industry professionals into the classroom, informing and inspiring the next generation of creators.
The fall program focuses on form and function as well as community. Each year, students tour their school’s surrounding neighborhood, making connections between classroom concepts and the outside world. Students make improvements ranging from the luxurious to the practical, which they translate into small-scale models. This year’s competition focused on bus shelters.
Read the Full StoryRegistration Information
The KIDS program serves classes of up to 24 students and provides all curriculum and materials for the 10-week program. The KIDS 5th grade lessons take place during the fall semester while 3rd grade lessons happen during the spring.
Applications
To have your class participate, complete this online application.
Applications for the Fall 2024 will be accepted beginning May 31, 2024 and schools will be chosen to participate with notifications going out in July 19, 2024.
Fall in-class lessons are set to commence in September and will conclude in December with a program-wide presentation and celebration of student achievement. The spring 2025 session will begin in February and will conclude in May.
Program Requirements
To participate, you must have access to the following: a classroom space, a computer with projector or smartboard with internet connectivity, and access to Google Drive. For virtual components, you will need to have a webcam and microphone available.
Program Fees
For more information, contact Ramon Muñoz, ramon.munoz@utsa.edu
Become an Adjunct Instructor
UTSA is accepting applications for on-call adjunct instructors to teach and manage the operational details of education programs, workshops, and classes in conjunction with our Mobile Arts Program. We currently have opportunities for teaching artists to work with diverse students at school sites and community centers.
Teaching artists with the KIDS program commit to working at one or more sites for a 12-week period which includes 10 weeks of in-class lessons, a program orientation, and a program wrap up meeting.
At each site, you will represent UTSA and will be expected to share knowledge about the visual arts, as well as information about offerings, such as scholarship programs, Saturday Morning Discovery, and Summer Art Studios. Adjunct instructors are responsible for operational details, including setting up of the classroom/space, preparing and organizing necessary supplies, cleaning up after class, communicating with teaching team members, communicating with the project manager, and evaluating and documenting class success. It is expected that MAPs are engaging and often interactive, while providing a learning opportunity for students. In addition to MAP, there are many other opportunities to partner with us in providing quality arts education.
Required Qualifications:
- Available to work weekdays (M-F) between the hours of 8:00am and 3:30pm
- A degree in Art, Art History or Education is preferred (we may consider experience and/or students who are pursuing these degrees and have a strong visual arts background)
- Flexibility to work at multiple sites and for varying lengths of time (partnership agreements between SSA and the organizations we serve may be as long six (6) months, or as short as one (1) month)
- Personable, outgoing, and enthusiastic
- Reliable, responsible, and organized, with a desire to learn and be a team player
- Able to stand for extended periods of time, walk up to half a mile, and to lift up to 25 pounds
- A love for teaching kids (experience with elementary, middle school a plus!)
- Ability to pass a background check
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