Unified Arts @ AHS

The Unified Arts Department at Ashland High School is dedicated to providing each student with an opportunity to explore, thrive, and excel in an artistic field of their choosing. UA at AHS encompasses several disciplines including: Studio Arts, Digital Arts, Drama, Music, Making & Technology. Through a rigorous course development process, the UA departments is able to offer students over 40 selections ranging from introductory courses such as Intro to Drawing, and Theater Arts I, all the way through more advanced studies such as AP Computer Science Principles, and Honors Directing. We are proud to offer quality programs during and after school for our makerspace, theater, music, and arts interested students.

2019-2020 New Courses!

The 2019-2020 school year promises to be an exciting one. We are adding three new courses to our offerings.

  • Makerspace Leadership - After piloting our MAKE course last year, we have refined the concept and will continue to focus on developing makerspace leaders for the AIC using this course as a springboard. Students in this class will get a chance to learn about the entire makerspace and all of our available tools. They will then get to use these new found skills to support teachers and other students who choose to use the makerspace for developing original projects, or other curriculum enhancements.
  • Guitar or Piano Studio courses - These two new music courses will provide an opportunity for deeper study in either guitar or piano for students who have already completed our introductory series in either subject. The studio course is a full year of study with a gear toward more independence as students continue to develop their skills in the chosen instrument.


Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in Unified Arts

In a discussion among the department members, we shared what it looks like for UA courses to provide SEL opportunities for our students. As one astute teacher quickly noted, our courses have long been that SEL opportunity for AHS students. We believe that most of our courses, while rigorous, also provide a space for students to let go of stress and be a little more free during the school day. Whether singing their heart out in chorus, or painting a still life in our painting courses, we want to ensure that students can see these as opportunities, not just requirements of a school schedule. To that end, we are also talking as teachers about how to make SEL an integrated part of our thinking and planning when we design our instruction. We care deeply about the people we teach and believe that their well being is a top priority in all of our classes.

Communication

You can easily get in touch with teachers using our official APS email addresses which can be found in the district directory.

Also, many of our teachers use Twitter to share what is going on in the classroom and to communicate out important information. Visit our Twitter page here.

General questions about the Unified Arts Department at Ashland High School can be directed to Department Liaison, Chad McGowan, cmcgowan@ashland.k12.ma.us.