Students in room 1104 paint and draw furiously, their hands cramping and brows furrowing under the approaching deadline. The air in the room is packed with focus and creativity, propelling the artists towards their final product. Some might consider this a stressful dilemma, but AP Drawing students live for this rush.
The art curriculum changed for the 2023-2024 school year, including a brand new Advanced Placement art course, AP Drawing. Additionally, the number of prerequisites was decreased so students could take more challenging, but equally inspiring, classes earlier. Now there is an Introduction to 2D class, so students can jump into Graphic Arts, Drawing, or Painting. Additionally, there is an Introduction to 3-D Art class, which leads into the Pottery track.
“I got to be on the committee to help design and create. It’s been a long time, somewhere between 12-15 years since we got a new art curriculum. I’m excited, and mostly for you guys [students], you get more opportunities,” art department head Jon Austin said.
Changing the art curriculum required a lot of discussion. It took two years for the adjustments to be put in place. Teachers in the district met and exchanged their views about what they liked within the program, what they wished to alter, and what they felt was necessary to keep.
These instructors engaged in various types of research regarding art education’s future. They wrote all their standards down and then had to find a group of 20 people from the school board to agree on what the syllabus should be.
“I think it’s all positive, and we tried to keep it to where art is going so you can be ready, “ Austin said.
AP Drawing is the capstone of the 2D art track. Students come into the class already experienced in the technical side of art, so they get the chance to create various compositions and explore personal subjects. They choose their sustained investigation, which is a personalized investigation that each student determines for themselves. It is a topic that they can explore from September to April, so it has to be specific but broad enough to research and create multiple compositions from.
“It’s fun watching the students come up with their own ideas, especially because many of them I have had since Art Foundations or their intro level class. So I enjoy watching them progress year after year and then now to take the big class and create all these amazing compositions. I know they’re going to be extremely successful and it’s going to be exciting,” AP Drawing teacher Mallory Limberg said.
Senior Gabriella Zambuto, who is enrolled in AP Drawing, has been an artist her whole life. She intends to pursue art in college.
“I think [AP Drawing] is fun. I think it’s going to help me fully expand my art and explore everything I haven’t explored yet, which I’m excited for,” Zambuto said.
Taking AP Drawing will provide a major opportunity for aspiring artists to create a portfolio, receive college credits, all while providing them with a fresh new perspective on art.
“She [Limberg] assigns stuff I have not explored yet, like self-portraits. Right now, I haven’t drawn people that much, but through this assignment, I’ll be able to learn a lot about drawing people,” Zambuto said.
As an AP class it involves challenging curves for a lot of students but they learn to overcome it.
“It’s a lot of challenges for me because the teacher does not help you, and I have to figure it out myself, and I think it’s a good learning curve for a lot of people,” Zambuto said.
Overall, students take AP Drawing for college credits, a new perspective on art, and to get help for their portfolio. Both teachers and students are satisfied with the outcomes of the new curriculum.