STUDENTS INVITED TO REPRESENT TESSERACT AND OTHER SCHOOLS AT ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FUNDRED DOLLAR BILL EVENT
PHOENIX, ARIZONA—March 15, 2010— Tesseract School middle and high school students, Rebecca G., Makena P., Colin S. and Gabby V., and visual arts educator, Barbara Nueske-Perez, were invited to represent Tesseract School and other schools in Arizona, as well as three surrounding states, at the Fundred Dollar Bill Project event at Arizona State University (ASU).
In support of Operation Paydirt, which offers a scientifically-proven method to neutralize hazardous lead that contaminates soil and compromises the health of children, the goal for the Fundred Dollar Bill Project, led by artist, Mel Chin, is to collect more than 3 million hand-drawn interpretations of U.S. $100 bills. This amount of Fundred Dollars represents the amount required in U.S. dollars to make every lead-contaminated property in New Orleans safe from the devastating effects of lead-contaminated soil. Lead-contaminated soil is an issue in most major U.S. cities, and in New Orleans alone 86,000 properties are estimated to have unsafe levels of lead in the soil.
Tesseract students in lower school through high school participated in this nation-wide project by creating Fundred Dollar Bills in their visual arts classes. The students and Nueske-Perez were not only interested in the Fundred Project from the creative aspect, but also the sustainability, global awareness and service-learning aspects, which are integral components of Tesseract’s innovative, student-centered curriculum.
“When I spoke with the students about the Fundred project, they were all very eager to participate,” said Nueske-Perez. “The willingness of our students to be part of what is a national, sustainable, community project is our mission statement in action, and was wonderful to not only observe, but to be a part of.”
To illustrate the high value of the Fundred Dollar Bills, a specially-designed armored truck, which runs on oil recycled from school lunches, was deployed to collection centers around the country, such as ASU, to pick up the Fundreds and keep them safe on their way to Washington D.C. At ASU, Tesseract students donned uniforms and guarded the armored truck and the Fundreds for the pick-up event. This spring Chin will bring all the Fundreds that have been collected to the U.S. Congress with a request for an even exchange for real funding.
“On the way back to Tesseract, the students and I discussed how they represented our school, and all the students in Arizona and the surrounding states, whose Fundred's came to ASU to help children in New Orleans,” stated Nueske-Perez. “Participating in this project and the event at ASU was so much more than just guarding the armored car, it represented the guarding of our future. I am very proud of all of them.”
For more information about the Fundred Dollar Bill Project and Operation Paydirt, visit www.fundred.org.
About Tesseract:
A leader in education in the Valley, Tesseract School prepares students to excel in college and beyond, lead lives of purpose, and become ethical and compassionate citizens with a global perspective. Tesseract’s innovative educational approach engages students in learning, enabling them to master the basics and become critical thinkers. As a non-profit, independent private school for students in preschool through grade 12, resources are directed to recruit and retain outstanding educators and continually enhance the school’s two campuses in Phoenix and Paradise Valley. For information visit www.tesseractschool.org or call 480.991.1770.
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