At WHS students face the growing challenge of fitting the necessary number of arts credits into their schedules to meet graduation requirements. This challenge has sparked concerns among not only students but also teachers and administrators who recognize the vital role of artistic education. With a very packed curriculum filled with core subjects, electives, and advanced placement (AP) courses, many are struggling to balance their passion for the arts with the demands of their academics.
Students are required to take six arts credits over the course of their high school experience, which has proven difficult when setting up a fulfilling and rigorous schedule.
“The arts courses I wanted to take pretty much always conflicted with my core classes, and I will always prioritize my academics over the arts,” said senior Noah Silva.
The WHS Program of Studies, approved each year by the administration and school committee, prioritizes a comprehensive education that ensures students will engage with the arts to cultivate their skills, foster growth, and possibly uncover new interests.
“Weston High School’s leadership is committed to the arts, and shows that in the Program of Studies,” said principal Susan Bairstow. “We want students to be well rounded, and having experience in the arts allows kids to grow, and they may fall in love with that course.”
There are many students that find it difficult to fit arts electives in their schedules, including that they might need the extra block to focus on their academic work.
“I participate in many extracurriculars, and I have very few study halls as it is,” sophomore Elliana Nino said. “I am also taking a lot of core academics. I need the study halls I do have in order to be in bed at a normal time and get my work done while studying for upcoming tests.”
WHS has added many advanced and AP courses in recent years, and the number of students enrolling in multiple academic courses of this type leaves limited room in their schedules for arts electives.
“In my 22 years at WHS, I have seen a significant increase in the number of AP courses that are available. I also see an increase in participants in what has been called ‘The Race to Nowhere,’” said arts department director, Chris Fehl. “As students double up in ‘major’ subjects, they become overbooked and overstressed and end up missing out on taking an art class, which is missing out.”
In addition to the core academic requirements, there are other requirements to graduate that take precedence over electives, which has led to some students finding it challenging to fit arts credits into their schedules, often leading to a last minute rush to fulfill their graduation requirements.
“I found [arts courses] difficult to fit in due to other course requirements like health and PE,” Silva said. “When my junior year came around, I was really worried about the art credit graduation rule and ended up taking 2 arts in one semester because it was the only thing that worked with my schedule.”
Many teachers have also noticed that their students struggle to fit arts courses into their already packed schedules.
“With certain courses only running a few times or even once each year, if the particular block doesn’t fit into their schedule, it is tough,” said art teacher Catherine Ciccolo. “In some cases I’ve had students need to wait a while before getting into the arts elective they’ve wanted to take all along.”
Some students believe they had not received information about these requirements prior to setting up their schedules, and knowing that information would have helped them to be more organized.
“I would have the administration provide more information for students going into their freshmen year,” said Nino. “I was unaware of this rule until I already had my schedule inputted and by the time I found out, there were no classes open for me to fit in.”
While guidance counselors actually do present the details on this requirement as part of their information sessions for rising freshmen, the range of information provided at that time may make it hard for some students to keep track of all of their options.
“We do our individual meetings, but in Janurary, there’s a program of studies or departmental night that the [department] heads and Ms. Schay does as well, where they talk to the upcoming ninth grade families about the graduation requirements,” said guidance counsler, Gretchen Gugliotta.
Those who oversee the arts programs at WHS have advice for students who are passionate about art and want to take a class, even when it is difficult to fit it into their schedules.
“Keep trying. There have been some amazing WHS grads that went to the best universities who were able to ‘do it all’ – art, music, drama, academics, and sports,” said Fehl. “If you can’t get your first choice, try taking an art class you weren’t initially considering.”
