The afternoon sun shines down on Mr. Shane Skinner’s seventh-period partners in art class as they draw pictures on the sidewalk with chalk. During Mr. Skinner’s second year at Legacy in 2014, he was asked to take on the Partners in Art class as the previous teacher resigned.
“I had worked with special needs kids before in middle school art class,” Mr. Skinner said. “I thought it would be a good fit, and I was right.”
The class’s activities consist of a multitude of art and craft projects throughout the year. When the weather is nice during the period, Mr. Skinner takes his class outside to draw on the sidewalk.
“I think the students really enjoy it when we go outside,” Mr. Skinner said. “Along with when we do unique art projects like getting out the paint which doesn’t happen very often because of how messy it is.”
Mr. Skinner’s GenEd (General Education) art students help the FALS class with their projects. Some of the FALS students require hand-over-hand help, while others just need a little coaching.
“During class, the FALS students get the opportunity to be around their peers who they don’t usually interact with,” Mr. Skinner said. “The GenEd students get the chance to practice responsibility and good citizenship by helping others.”
One of Mr. Skinner’s GenEd students, sophomore Courtlyn Riggs, helps in the class as a partner for the FALS kids.
“When I’m helping the students out, I feel like I’m building genuine friendships with the students,” Riggs said. “Being in this class helps me understand them on a whole other level.”
Riggs always makes lasting memories in Mr. Skinner’s class, even if it makes a mess.
“My favorite memory in the class is when one of the special needs students grabbed a bottle of cornstarch on a movie day,” Riggs said. “When nobody was really paying attention, he started throwing it everywhere all over himself, the floor and other students, and it looked like it had just snowed. There was so much cornstarch everywhere.”
Mr. Skinner assigns different partners every six weeks on average so each person can work with all of the different students. Riggs usually helps one to two students at a time.
“I plan on staying with partners in art until I graduate,” Riggs said. “It would be so sad to not be in it anymore.”
Partners in Art allows students to put themselves out there and see what it’s like to work with FALS kids.
“My favorite thing is the relationships that are built during the year in the class,” Mr. Skinner said. “I have had students form life-long friendships because of the class, and some students have even gone on to college and careers serving special-needs people.”
