They are like, 'Wow, I did that'

Stephanie Stanley, Central Catholic Elementary’s art teacher, has a dedication that goes beyond her classroom walls as she utilizes a program called Artsonia to share her student’s artwork with their families, friends and community members.
Stanley was recently recognized by Artsonia because her classes have received 200 awards and have displayed more than 2,500 pieces of student’s art on the online student art museum this school year.
“The students have art class with me once per week and I take pictures of each child’s artwork, upload it to the Artsonia program and then those with permission can access the artwork. The program lets those viewing the artwork to “like” it, post comments and purchase merchandise with the artwork such as T-shirts, ornaments, canvas prints, magnets, all kinds of different things,” Stanley said.
Stanley and Central Catholic Elementary have been maintaining digital student portfolios for the past 13 years. In addition to accumulating over 55,000 pieces of art on Artsonia, Stanley and Central Catholic Elementary have connected over 450 friends and family members to student galleries.
“A unique thing about Artsonia is that the kids have it the whole time they are here so at the end when they leave us they can go back and see everything they have done from Pre-K on,” Stanley said.
Artsonia helps thousands of teachers in over 100 countries worldwide create online student art galleries and portfolios. Parents and relatives can view the art online, leave comments and order keepsakes featuring the artwork. As part of its mission, Artsonia donates 20 percent of merchandise revenue directly back to local classrooms and has given back more than $10 million to classrooms since 2000.
“I have lots of parents that comment on students’ artwork, and I make several hundred dollars a year off of this and that helps fund the art room supplies,” Stanley said.
Stanley has also received other perks for the amount of interaction her student’s art museums receive. “I had enough awards last year that I was able to get 50 magnets for free with kid’s artwork and I have them displayed in my classroom,” Stanley said.
“I think a lot of times the kids, they see their artwork, but when they see it up there online, it is like a whole other ballgame for them. They are like ‘Wow, I did that,’” Stanley said.