Goshen art teacher urges board to strengthen visual-arts programming

Chryssipa Hooky, an art teacher in the GOSHEN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT visual-arts department, told the school board that New York State’s visual-arts standards (revised in 2017) emphasize certified instructors and outline grade-specific requirements. “The regs state that art is best taught by a certified art teacher in order to meet all of the arts standards,” Hooky said.

Hooky framed the presentation around two goals: provide visual-literacy and creative-problem-solving instruction to all students, and prepare those who pursue creative careers for further study and professional work. She said Part 100 of the New York State Education Department regulations requires art instruction in preK–6 (without a specified minimum weekly time), requires a half credit of art across grades 7–8, and requires one credit of art or music at the high-school level, with some state-approved exceptions such as DDP (Drawing, Design and Production) in STEAM programs.

District staffing and scheduling are uneven, Hooky said. She cited that the district has not provided regular kindergarten art since 2010 and that first and second grades receive art roughly once a week on a rotating schedule. At Scotchtown, Taylor Smith teaches part time (0.6 FTE) and splits studio-art and photography instruction between the high school and elementary; at the intermediate school, Teagan Kennedy teaches weekly 40-minute lessons with most projects spanning two to three class periods. At the school identified in the transcript as “CJ,” Hooky named Amber Brown and Michael Perez as full-time teachers and said grades 6–8 have art each day for one quarter, with advanced eighth-grade studio classes available for high-school credit.

Hooky highlighted student achievement and experiential learning: district students recently placed at the Scholastic Art Awards and the district runs an Olympics of the Visual Arts club that competes in Saratoga. She said district winners have attracted scholarship interest from arts colleges and later cited totals of 24 Gold Key awards, 29 Silver Key awards and 34 honorable mentions. She also described internships (student Caitlin Baumgart), a new mural by Katie Palau incorporating student designs, and an annual art road trip that typically brings about 60 students to museums and studios (this year planned for Corning and Buffalo).

To illustrate career pathways, Hooky listed alumni working in stage design, graphic design and film and motion-capture production, and noted that arts colleges commonly require portfolios of 12–20 college-level pieces for admission. She also cited that creative workers represent a small share of the U.S. labor force (about 1.6%), and she referenced high employment rates reported by some arts colleges as part of her argument that arts education supports both lifelong participation and career readiness.

Hooky closed by thanking the board, offering to answer questions by email and asking the board to consider the program’s staffing, curricular pathway development and the benefits students gain from exhibitions, competitions and college-placement support.