Aldine ISD End of Year 2024-25

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AISD NEWS

DISTRICT ART TEACHER AND STUDENTS SHOWCASES WORK AT ‘THREAT OF JOY’ EXHIBITION

level of honesty is something I’ll carry with me.” Student contributions were central to the installation. “I put my all into this project to invoke meaning not for me, but for someone else who may be searching for inspiration,” shared stu dent Pedro Reyna. Classmate Anthony Raudales added, “I am showing the evolution of music—not just the way we listen to music but how music itself has adapted throughout the years.” The show highlights the diverse creative voices of educators and students alike and features paintings, textiles, anima tions, and interactive installations. “This is a wonderful opportunity to support our talented educators and connect with new art teachers from surrounding districts,” said Kaileigh Newman, Aldine ISD’s visual arts direc tor. “I encourage everyone to visit the exhibition to celebrate their creativity and accomplishments.” McCraw hopes visitors walk away from the exhibit with a powerful reminder: that joy matters. “I hope they feel that joy is worth protecting. Even in adversity, creativity can be an act of hope. Joy will always be a threat in a world of duality — and student voices deserve to be part of that conversation.” The Threat of Joy exhibition contin ues at CAMH. It includes work by art teachers and students from Houston, including representatives from Spring Branch ISD, Houston ISD, Cypress-Fair banks ISD, Alvin ISD, Magnolia ISD, and others.

Students at Impact Leadership Acad emy embraced that message through personal reflections on how music shaped their lives. “It started with conversations about how music is healing and serves as a space where we meet each other without words,” McCraw said. “The students listened to music and allowed their ideas to emerge on the canvas without hesita tion. The music was in control — and each student’s interpretation reflected how it had personally ‘saved’ them.” The project challenged McCraw to bal ance a unified vision with the individu ality of each student’s voice. “At first, we thought everything had to match, but the beauty was in the vari ation,” he said. “Their interpretations and what music meant to each made the pieces deeper. Seeing them explain their work to museum visitors was indescribable.” Throughout the process, McCraw fostered a studio environment where vulnerability, expression, and creative freedom were encouraged. “We take pride in that

Aldine ISD art teacher Toby McCraw and students from Impact Leadership Academy at Wilson showcased their creative voices at the Threat of Joy teacher exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH). The ex hibition, organized by CAMH’s Teacher Advisory Group, was opened to the pub lic on Friday, May 9, and features work from 15 Houston-area art educators and their students. It will run until May 25. McCraw, a member of the museum’s advisory group, called the opportunity a personal and professional milestone. “It’s an incredible honor,” McCraw said. “To be selected among so many passionate educators is such a pinna cle moment for me. Professionally, it validates our work in Aldine to uplift students’ voices through creativity. In a world where young people need space to feel seen and heard, self-expression is more than art — it’s essential.” Now in its fourth year, the exhibition explores joy as a powerful force of resil ience. McCraw’s featured piece, Music Saved My Life, was created with stu dents using graphite pencil, gold leaf, digital photographic prints, and Legos. The mixed-media work pays tribute to Houston’s historic Eldorado Ballroom and explores music as a source of heal ing and identity. “The Eldorado is sacred ground for joy and culture in Houston,” McCraw explained. “I wanted my students to understand that joy can be a radical act, especially in the face of adversity or doubt. That truth is woven into the exhibition’s theme.”

our art room is not a classroom, but a

studio. It’s a safe space — created for and by the students — where there’s no judgment and no mistakes,” he said. “They weren’t just making art. They were telling stories of survival, celebration, and self-worth. That

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