ROCHESTER, N.Y. — News10NBC is highlighting members of the community who go above and beyond to make Rochester better.
An art teacher is making waves beyond the classroom, turning creativity into community impact. Sue Hollister-Cronberger teaches her students they can have an impact inside and outside the classroom.
“We have so many talented kids. And so what I try to do is allow them to bring in their interests, in their own creativity, and then we turn it into an art project or into, you know, something that they can learn some entrepreneurial skills through,” Hollister-Cronberger said.
Inspiration
Sue Hollister-Cronberger has been teaching in the Rochester City School District for 22 years. Her journey started with simple advice from her dad.
“He goes, well, you like kids, you like art, be an art teacher. And I said, okay. And it worked,” said Hollister-Cronberger.
Sickle Cell Awareness
She decided to bring awareness to the community and to students about sickle cell disease. Money raised through a blood drive in donated to the Red Cross in honor of Narseary Harris and her family. She works at School Without Walls and lost two of her sons to sickle cell anemia.
“She decided we should bring awareness to our community and to the students to make them aware of what’s happening with students who have sickle cell disease,” Narseary Harris.
Hollister-Cronberger added “I never in a million years would have ever guessed that that had happened to her because she is just like the kindest, sweetest woman and she always has this huge smile on her face.”
The event collected 27 units of blood.
“She spearheaded a blood drive, an honor and remembrance of our sons. Because blood is crucial transfusions if children don’t get transfused, they more than likely will not live for very long. The love and the support that she gives to this community, it’s for those that have sickle cell disease, making our community aware of that, doing what she can to get blood donations to help them live a normal life as much as possible,” Harris said.
The drive also featured student-made crafts for sale. Hollister-Cronberger secured grant funding to purchase materials for student artwork. Students learned printmaking and created designs on deli paper, then used mod podge to piece together unique items.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a student that has, like, really high level of skills. We spend some time learning how to do printmaking, and then I have them print on to these, like, bakery, like deli paper. And then they mod podge the really cool designs together,” Hollister-Cronberger said.
School Without Walls Golf Scramble
Her efforts don’t stop there. School Without Walls has about 60 seniors, and Hollister-Cronberger noticed fewer students could afford senior year expenses like class shirts, yearbooks, prom and cap and gown.
Each golf scramble that takes place in August funds the senior class for the following year. Paying for the class shirt, a yearbook, prom and cap and gown gets pricey.
“Less and less students were participating in those things. And it wasn’t because I didn’t want to, it was just because they couldn’t really afford it,” Hollister-Cronberger said.
Over the last five years, the charity event has raised more than $45,000.
Seneca Park Zoo
Students recently planned a field trip to Seneca Park Zoo. Hollister-Cronberger said the trip had to include an educational component.
“We talked about what could we do with this. And, you know, my brain always goes to how can we use what we do or what we are able to do for the community,” Hollister-Cronberger said.
The students photographed animals at the zoo. Hollister-Cronberger plans to teach them how to digitally paint the photographs using iPads and Apple Pencils, then create postcards or calendars to sell as a fundraiser for Seneca Park Zoo.
News10NBC’s Kristi Blake: “What do you think inspired you to do all of this? Because you could have chosen to just come in this classroom for eight hours?”
Sue Hollister-Cronberger: “I question that decision every time. Oh, that’s the fun stuff, though. Like, I don’t know, I thrive off of seeing the kids energized by knowing that event is coming up. It could be something small. It could be something big. And just watching their eyes light up when they start to see people coming through the door.”
ESL Heart of Service Awards: RCSD Teacher turns creativity into community impact WHEC.com.
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