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 ALBANY, N.Y. (July
1, 2009) -- It was like Christmas in
July for Abrookin Vocational-Technical Center family and consumer
sciences teacher Kim DeHart.
Mrs. DeHart received a donated high-tech
sewing and embroidery machine July 1 from Cheryl Pollock of Lady Cher
Stitch Studio in Colonie. Pictured at Abrookin are (L-R): Junior
Joanna Ray, Mrs. Pollock, Mrs. DeHart, new Albany High School Principal
David C. McCalla, Ph.D., and senior Daronda Addison.
Valued at $3,000, the computerized machine
will have a great impact on learning for Abrookin’s students, enhancing
valuable hands-on opportunities that will allow them to work with the
most current technology, Mrs. DeHart said.
“It’s not a sewing machine anymore,” she
said. “It’s a computer. The students
will benefit from this equipment because
it merges two worlds, technology and sewing,
and applies them to everyday life skills."
Mrs. DeHart teaches clothing and textiles,
as well as clothing and production. In the past, she has brought in a
similar machine from home to demonstrate its capabilities for students.
"Now they can actually do it themselves," she said.
The Husqvarna Viking Designer 1 has both
sewing and embroidery capabilities. It will allow Abrookin students to
produce nearly any design they can conceptualize. Mrs. Pollock also
donated software valued at more than $800.
“Now there is no limit to the students’
creative opportunities,” she said.
Both Daronda and Joanna have taken Mrs.
DeHart's classes in the past. They got a
 demonstration
during the delivery on how to use the machine as it produced a
preprogrammed heart pattern.
In Mrs. DeHart's classes, students make a
range of projects, from basic to advanced levels. Examples include
pajama pants,
pillows, dresses, shirts, shorts, handbags, hats and stuffed
animals. They also have the opportunity to
make a variety of textile items for community service projects,
such as walker bags, eye glass cases, handbags, chef hats, fabric
books and lettered bean bags.
However, in
the past students were limited to the capabilities of a standard sewing
machine, Mrs. DeHart said. The donated machine will help the students
expand their creativity skills.
"Students enjoy
and take pride in wearing or displaying an item they made themselves,
and when you personalize it, they like it even more," Mrs. DeHart
said. "With this machine students will
have the opportunity to be more creative and they
will improve their design process skills."
Mrs. Pollock said that she made the donation
as part of her personal mission to get the sewing and textile arts into
area schools, and to encourage others in the area to donate similar
equipment to benefit students.
“My belief is that the schools are missing
out on sewing as the greatest teaching opportunity available for use
from elementary school through high school,” she said. “With sewing you
can teach manual dexterity, spatial concepts, colors, math, science,
history, home economics, independent thinking and problem solving.
“For students, working with their hands and
producing something is so much more satisfying than a lecture on the
subject. Experiential learning is the way many students learn, and for
some the only way they learn.”
For more information, contact Lady Cher
Stitch Studio at (518) 446-0437.
The mission of the City School District of
Albany is to educate and nurture all students to be
responsible citizens, critical thinkers and lifelong learners to
successfully compete in the global community by providing an
academically rigorous and safe environment in partnership with parents,
students and the community. The district
serves approximately 8,400 students in 16
elementary, middle and high schools. In addition to neighborhood
schools, the district includes several magnet schools and programs, as
well as other innovative academic opportunities for students.
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