About Us

The concept of Trash for Teaching began in 2004 when Steve and Kathy Stanton started taking their own manufacturing byproducts and overruns to their son’s preschool to be used in class projects.  Things from their specialty packaging factory like die-cut cardboard hearts, ribbons, and long cardboard tubes.  The children liked the materials and found many ways to use them.  In fact they came up with many more ways to play with the items than most adults could ever imagine.  It was a wonderful lesson for the Stantons in how naturally resourceful and imaginative young children are.  As the school was Reggio Emilia-based the open-ended materials fit perfectly in many of the daily activities. For more about Reggio Emilia click here.
 
That was the impetus to seek out other clean, safe and interesting “trash”.  Of course it was no surprise that there was plenty to be had, the surprise came in the variety of stuff – tons and tons of stuff in lots of wonderful shapes, colors, sizes, and textures and it was all being thrown away!  Going into landfills!  What a waste of great waste!

Research showed that while there were reuse centers in several cities in the country, there was no such place in Los Angeles.  But the idea of a center seemed static.  Some teachers and artists would certainly come to the warehouse in Gardena, but the idea of waiting for people to show up didn’t seem very proactive or more importantly it wasn’t service-oriented.  So the idea of the Treasure Truck was born; a truck outfitted with bins full of materials driven directly to the schools by a professional facilitator to interact with the teachers and the students.  Now to sell the idea….

Fortunately the Los Angeles Unified School District Arts Education Branch was intrigued enough to offer a pilot program to Kindergarten classes in the 2004/2005 school year.  The program was a success and Trash for Teaching was invited to submit a comprehensive program to be offered through the Arts Community Partnership Network.  That original program is still going strong 3 years later while continuing to grow and expand in scope.  Other customized programs have also been successful in Culver City Unified School District and Torrance Unified School District.  Trash for Teaching was awarded non-profit status in 2006 and looks forward to many more years of service.  Our ultimate goal is to unify all community sectors, from children, parents, and teachers to manufacturers, artists and environmentalists by developing sustainable reuse systems that foster creativity in education.

Brief History of Trash for Teaching

June 2004

• Incorporated
• Purchased a used postal truck and outfitted it to be the first Treasure Truck

September 2004

• Hired our first arts educator to develop, coordinate and implement arts programming
• Opened our warehouse of materials to the general public
• Forged an ongoing partnership with the Natural History Museum, providing materials and collaboration for the museum’s Family Fun Days

November 2004

• Exhibited at the National Association for the Education for Young Children (NAEYC) convention, our first big event, to showcase our materials and services

October 2004

• Started serving 178 Teachers and over 4000 students in 40 Los Angeles Unified School District elementary schools as part of a pilot program for the new All-Day Kindergarten

February 2005

• Developed and offered our first Reggio Emilia-inspired workshop

July 2005

• Officially became a member of Los Angeles Unified School District’s Arts Community Partnership Network.  This esteemed group of providers includes the Museum of Contemporary Art, L.A. Chamber Orchestra, L.A. Opera, Armory Center for the Arts, Music Center, and PS Arts

December 2005

• Contracted with the Culver City Unified School District to provide professional development for all elementary school faculty and Treasure Truck visits for their students

March 2006

• Received a Reuse Assistance Grant from the California Integrated Waste Management Board in partnership with the City of Torrance to serve 20 Torrance schools
• Purchased our second Treasure Truck

June 2006

• Held our first official Board of Directors meeting

September 2006

• Converted our local Treasure Truck to run on used vegetable oil

October 2006

• Collaborated with the Pasadena Unified School District to offer professional development workshops for their teachers

November 2006

• Began offering professional development workshops to Los Angeles Universal Preschool providers

December 2006

• Expanded our operations to meet the great demand for our services to include 2 full-time administrators, 2 in-house support staff, and 5 teaching artists and environmental educators

January 2007

• As part of our strategic plan to better serve the greater Los Angeles area, contracted with a grant writer to secure funding

March 2007

• Los Angeles Unified School District accepted a contract increase that allows us to go from serving a maximum of 3000 students in 2006 to serving 6000 students in 2007

May 2007

• Los Angeles County Arts Commission approved our arts education program to be included in their Arts Education Resource Directory – See listing and video at: http://www.laartsed.org/program.aspx?pid=385

November 2007

• First ever Friend Raiser to help raise awareness, find support, and premiere the new promotional video (link on the homepage to view)

Serving Trash for Teaching
Steve Stanton, Executive Director

Board of Directors:
Steve Stanton, President
Shel Pink, Vice President
John Pollaro, Treasurer
Kathy Stanton, Secretary
Phil Green
Andrew Laugel
Laura Ornest
Kirk Retz
Felicia Rosenfeld

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