Ten schools stepped up to the PTA Council challenge to take an abstract idea and turn it into a creative reality. They were asked to transform, in just one month, a discarded wooden school chair into an eye catching and welcoming invitation to parents and community members to visit a public school. Thanks to Church Lane Elementary Technology School and Perry Hall Middle School for providing the chairs. Participating schools in the project are:

• Southeast:
• Patapsco High School & Center for the Arts
• Sandalwood Elementary School
• Northeast:
• Eastern Technical High School
• Perry Hall Middle School
• Central:
• Cromwell Valley Elementary School
• Towson High School
• Northwest:
• Church Lane Elementary Technology School
• New Town High School
• Southwest:
• Chadwick Elementary School
• Windsor Mill Middle School

A description of each chair follows:

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Chadwick Elementary School
Art teacher Judith Holzer worked with a small group of students to honor the "Chadwick Champions." This colorful chair, a tribute to mixed media, has many elements of surprise from yellow blocks to wooden people. The painted cardboard trophy says it all: Chadwick, the School of Champions!

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Church Lane Elementary Technology School
Art teacher Barbara Zelt used bold color and designs in transforming this wooden chair. Imagine how many students sat on this very chair since Church Lane first opened its doors in 1963? As a tribute to the school's continuing commitment to excellence in education, the chair seat is decorated with a stack of schoolbooks topped off by a big red apple for a V.I.P., the teacher.

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Cromwell Valley Elementary Regional Magnet School of Technology
Art teacher Debra Rogers enlisted the help of 18 very creative and patriotic students to transform their wooden chair into "AMERICANA PTA". The deep red chair seat features rows of educational strips applied by decoupage. Attached to the chair back are three wooden stars boldly proclaiming that parents, teachers and students are working together in unity.

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Eastern Technical High School
Under the supervision of art teacher Lynn Short, a group of seniors from the Multimedia Communication Design program created the "Reading Chair." This unique chair is adorned with the students' favorite quotes and a variety of tools for reading and writing. Special features are the reading lights disguised as birds, reading glasses on a beaded chain, and a broken laptop cleverly "repurposed" as a flip-up side table.

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New Town High School
Art Department chairperson Sandra Cryder enlisted the Art Honor Society for this project. Their stark white chair pops with the addition of bright chunky crayons. Who doesn't remember reading Green Eggs and Ham? This chair sends a powerful message about the basic yet important role that reading plays in a student's continued academic success.

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Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts
Thanks to magnet coordinator Larry Friend for recruiting art department chairperson Bernie Zienkiewicz to supervise senior Shanae M. in the creation of the "Art of Science." This colorfully painted chair celebrates science - from the Earth attached to the seat back to the artistic depiction of an animal cell on the chair seat. Further exploration will unearth Shanae's other creative references to the wonders of science.

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Perry Hall Middle School
"The Heart of the Arts" chair was created by Laura Patacca-Kerr, an art teacher who has been teaching in BCPS since 1996 at her alma mater, Perry Hall Middle School. Her inspiration was the visual and performing arts. This stunning assemblage sculpture gets to the "pointe" - that all forms of artistic expression deserve recognition.

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Sandalwood Elementary School
Under the supervision of art teacher Bill Libershal, fifth grade students created the "Welcome Chair!" Pearl jade green paint transformed this plain chair into a glimmering piece of art adorned with mirrored glass and reflective baubles set in a repetitive pattern. The only hint of its origin is the exposed natural wood spelling out WELCOME! Surprise - turn the chair over and find the signatures of the fifth graders who participated in this project!

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Towson High School
Art teacher Caryn Martin handed this project over to the talented members of the school's National Art Honor Society. This brightly painted chair, a tribute to American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), gives a new meaning to connect the dots! Wow!

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Windsor Mill Middle School
Art teacher Emily Hall had barely settled into this new school when she accepted the challenge. This chair, created by students Royale C. and Davantay S. is a tribute to the school's "Shining Stars Pledge" and the fact that at Windsor Mill Middle School, achievement is limitless!

Story by Nancy Ostrow, first vice president, PTA Council of Baltimore County, Inc. Photos by Wendy Aschenbrenner for the PTA Council.