Jen Grober P’26, ‘27, ‘27, ‘28

The Grade 9 Arts Program puts every 9th grader in front of eight different disciplines before they’ve had the chance to decide where their interest really lies — what does that look like as you watch it unfold?

In their first year at Pingree, 9th graders are invited to rotate through seven disciplines within the performing and visual arts. The students stay together in their cohort of 12-14 as they move through the seven disciplines, building camaraderie and a class identity. They spend approximately 11 classes discovering a discipline with one teacher who specializes in that area. From dancing in a studio before a wall of mirrors, where they discover the expressive power of movement and choreography, to my classroom, where they work with a variety of 2D and 3D media, the group is continually asked to consider how elements of the arts layer on one another to create expression. As I tell my students, if you don't like what we're learning today, just wait a moment, because we'll be doing something new before you know it.

What do you hope students discover about themselves through this program, especially those who do not yet see themselves as artistic or creative?

In my rotation alone, students learn to manipulate the elements of art and apply the principles of design in sketching, shading, painting, printmaking, mixed-media collage, bookmaking, and sculpture. They work both abstractly and from life and are introduced to techniques they can apply to future work, as well as to the resources available in our classrooms.

And while I’m partial to the materials and processes explored in my classroom, in the end, this process of expression, discovery, and risk-taking is inherent to all their work at Pingree. The habits of the mind they develop in 9th Grade Arts apply everywhere to everything. These are the class norms across the 9th Grade Arts: Be Present. Share. Embrace Mistakes. Respect (one another, yourselves, your classroom, etc.). Dare To Be Joyful. But they are also habits of mind that support them throughout their Pingree education.

Is there a moment that stands out to you of a student surprising themselves — deciding, right there in the room, that this is something they want to keep doing?

No matter what area of study they pursue, students regularly return to the classroom to use our resources to create innovative responses to assignments across disciplines. One student followed her 9th-grade arts with Printmaking (where she won a Gold Key in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for a drypoint etching on the theme of "Comfort"). She then applied what she learned in both Printmaking and 9th Grade Arts to create a journal of her journey across the frontier for her history class, hand-dyeing pages and embossing her faux-leather journal cover using the printing press.

9th Grade Arts helps students feel like they belong in all the classrooms. It’s hard to pick one story to share about a student discovering themselves in the arts. So many students come through our classrooms, but each one makes a close connection to something (if not many somethings) along the way. And then they return to your classroom for Painting I or Printmaking. Then they return again. And before you know it, they’re in the application process and interviewing for APEX Visual Arts Changemaking, telling you that it was that specific moment (when they completed the drawing, or won the class vote for “Best in Show” for their one-day cardboard sculpture challenge, or created their abstract mixed media self-portrait) that they knew. In that moment, they saw themselves as an artist.

How does this early taste of so many different paths shape the choices students go on to make — at Pingree and beyond?

Students walk away from the 9th Grade Arts rotation realizing that they are all visual and performing artists, and most seem to come away with a sense of themselves as artists. "I'm a colorist," one will say. "I'm a printmaker," or "I like 3D art," another classmate will say. From this experience, students can then choose what full-credit arts they will pursue in the following years. If you enjoyed 3D sculpture, maybe Fiber Arts or Ceramics Wheel will be classes you find particularly interesting. If you enjoyed singing, have you considered trying out for the musical? Most of all, working through the 9th Grade Arts Rotation makes students realize that they can do hard things and that they’ve only begun to tap into their potential.