Jan Lefebvre is SRRHS’s beloved Theatre Arts teacher, and let me just go on the record to say she is a delight to interview. It doesn’t take a sleuth to understand that Jan is a passionate educator who builds powerful relationships that leverage student learning; it’s obvious in her words, gestures, and tone. Jan teaches a variety of English Language Arts classes, but I specifically wanted to ask her about Theatre Arts because after a year or so of adapting classes for online or hybrid learning, getting students recalibrated to the human aspect of school gains in significance. And from what I can see, Theatre Arts is a power tool for that.

Theatre Arts is a unique class in many ways. It’s a spectrum of experience; some students walk in with a plethora of theatre performance experience, others with none. It has students ranging from 9th to 12th grade, and it serves students with a variety of needs. Jan says, “It’s an area where everyone has an opportunity for success.” However, that’s also a challenge for her because she is always seeking ways for students to be successful in their own unique way. “I want them walking away feeling like they know something kind of cool that not everyone knows about, but also they had fun while doing it and have a positive feeling when they leave.”