Visual Art and Community School Partnerships

Principal Meryl Barrett, a 1994 Institute alumnus, collaborated with art teacher Wayne Swarctz to develop a comprehensive art program for the elementary students of Ridge Ranch School -- a program that has had enthusiastic support from the adult community of Paramus, New Jersey. The program entailed extensive school study of impressionist and postimpressionist art, a tour for parents of the French painting collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and a display of students' impressionist and postimpressionist style paintings at the corporate headquarters of Western Union Corporation, located in Paramus. The initiative began with students in first through fourth grades practicing impressionist and postimpressionist painting techniques in their studio art classes. Students also were exposed to the history of French art of the period, learning about the lives of artists such as Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Mary Cassatt, Paul Cézanne, and Vincent van Gogh. Studying reproductions of these artists' paintings, students analyzed and critiqued them -- a process that helped develop students' language skills and creative thinking while enhancing visual awareness.

To reinforce this art history and studio instruction, the school established a small gallery space in a corridor leading to the art classroom. Featuring a different artist each month, this "Artist Alcove" has become the focal point for many interdisciplinary lessons. Students give "gallery talks" on the particular art objects displayed, often continuing research in the classroom, where reports are given to their peers and where exhibits can be further critiqued by the class.

Community volunteers in the Art Exposure program further enhance the school art instruction by discussing art reproductions with grades one and two in order to promote early art awareness. Volunteers show prints of works that are stylistically related to those featured in the Artist Alcove and, afterward, discuss the art with the students.

Parental involvement was ensured by the museum tour component of the program. With a grant from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, funds were secured for a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Further community support was provided through the sponsorship of Western Union Corporation, which has a partnership with Ridge Ranch School and others in the district. Student work from schools districtwide was selected for display at the corporate headquarters in Paramus. All art was professionally matted, framed, and installed throughout the office complex. A reception was held and tours were conducted for parents and friends.