Weston Public Schools presents K–12 visual arts review, recommends more digital tools and community outreach

Chris Fell, the district’s director of visual arts, presented a K–12 program review to the Weston School Committee, outlining strengths, opportunities and next steps for the district’s visual-arts curriculum.

Fell said the review was “a labor of love for our department,” summarizing survey results, instructional alignment and recommendations aimed at strengthening arts education across elementary, middle and high schools. He told the committee that “93% of families that responded to the survey have attended an art show in Weston,” and described that response as “an incredible testament to our community’s commitment to the arts.”

The review, developed with district staff and Jake Jenga, compared Weston’s scope-and-sequence documents to the National Core Arts Standards and the Massachusetts art curriculum frameworks and highlighted the program’s “holistic student development” approach — creativity, social-emotional learning, collaboration and real-world application. Fell said the department’s flexibility and emphasis on social-emotional learning are program strengths.

Committee members pressed for specifics. School Committee member Jeff Lucas asked what “more community involvement” could look like; Fell suggested evening classes, expanded public exhibitions and partnerships with local artists and organizations. Fellow committee members asked about making the district’s K–12 shows “a must-see” event for all residents and about showcasing student work outside school buildings.

Fell identified specific recommendations and operational needs: - Expand digital-art instruction and exposure to tools such as Adobe Illustrator, animation and 3D modeling. - Increase interdisciplinary work between art and STEM, humanities and social studies. - Explore scheduling changes to reduce conflicts that prevent students from enrolling in arts courses and to improve METCO student access. - Consider raising the high-school arts graduation expectation: Fell said he has “been pushing for about 10 years to move the graduation requirements from 6 credits … to 8.” - Address targeted facility fixes, including elementary sink areas, ventilation noise in the middle-school woodshop, instability in the middle-school Mac lab connection and several high-school workspace issues.

Fell described accessibility and equity work: he reported that METCO students make up about 10% of Weston High School art enrollment this year, a share he said he expected to be higher and which prompted outreach and scheduling follow-up. He also noted that the department serves many students who receive special-education services in the same classes through differentiated instruction.

Operational details included staffing and budget: Fell said the arts program is delivered with 6.8 full-time-equivalent positions across K–12 and that large equipment purchases — cameras, printers, kilns — create pinch points when items fail. He cited typical replacement costs (for example, photo printers in the “$2,500–$3,000” range) and suggested a multi-year replacement fund for capital items. Fell also praised Weavesee (district partner mentioned in the presentation) for supporting the clay program and providing portable display panels that enabled pop-up shows.

Committee members recommended the external review team focus on a smaller set of targeted questions: how to expand community engagement, whether year-long courses or repeated cyclical offerings are feasible, and what immediate facility fixes should be prioritized ahead of a potential middle-school/high-school building project.

The committee scheduled next steps: refine external-review questions, pursue targeted maintenance, and consider scheduling changes to increase student access to arts offerings.