In Search of Catholic School Excellence

Thomas Boles: Welcome to In Search of Catholic School Excellence, the show where we spotlight the program's, people, and practices making a real difference in Catholic education today.

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Hello folks.

Welcome back.

This week we are with Abby Herget of Saints, Peter and Paul, and we are talking with her about the art program and more specifically about the sunrise.

Art show that they have at the end of the year, every year.

Before we get to that special event, I want to ask Abby, where did the program start?

You must have come to the school at some point and the art program was in whatever state it was.

And you've kind of built that with the help of everybody else, I imagine.

Mm-hmm.

To a point where it's a pretty serious thing.

It's definitely more serious than most schools.

Can you give us a little bit history behind the art program and your involvement?

Abby: Well, my son was a student at St. Peter and Paul, and in kindergarten that was 2002.

I decided to get a little bit more involved with art and make it a a little more intensive and, uh, a little more, uh, fun for them.

So I used my background as an art director at both a public relations company and.

Formerly the design director of a textile student studio.

I used the contacts I had there to have artists come in.

It was artists, writers, musicians, came in to do volunteer art workshops and the parents, um, volunteered to help with them and, we did, uh, we had a costume designer in, we had a textile designer in Wow.

Um, we had a photographer come in with a, a large format camera.

It was really fun.

And then I kept doing that with my son's class.

Um, and I think the word got out like, Hey, can't we have some of that over here?

And, um, so I did that through his class, through about sixth grade.

When.

Dr. Harris, our beloved principal hired me to do art for the junior high.

It was a wonderful coming together.

I was doing more and more consulting work, so I had a little more time on my professional work life.

And, um, I was thrilled to be joining the staff in 2008.

Thomas Boles: Oh, that's great.

And so, if that was the beginning where you kind of just, you got folks to come in and volunteer

Abby: mm-hmm.

Thomas Boles: And then you get this opportunity to make it more formalized.

How has it grown since that first year of that formality to the point where it is now where, you know, from my understanding of, of what happens you're still teaching six through eight.

You're having parent volunteers come in and, and help out, but there's a curriculum that is

Much more elevated than what were typical for middle school or any school, for that matter, for their art program.

Abby: Well, again, I just draw a lot on my background and also I have a, just an academic background in art history, which helps a lot.

Um, when I first started, I developed curriculum that was based on what was going on in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade.

Um, social studies.

So I worked with our social studies, so smart teacher, Dana, Wayne, and I did a lot of things, you know, sixth grade cave art, uh, cave painting Egyptian art.

Seventh grade was uh, we did a little bit more on south, um, American cultures.

Eighth grade I did a lot more about American art.

And I did that for quite a few years, although.

COVID kind of, uh, made me change the format a little bit because I just felt so compelled to do things during COVID that really got the kids so interested.

So I started focusing a little bit more on contemporary art, things that weren't 3000 years old.

Um, and, uh.

I I looked a little bit more of like, what's happening today or what's the kind of art that these, um, students are seeing every day?

What are they seeing on Instagram?

What are they seeing around town?

So, uh, since then I've really developed new curriculum every year.

I work on it over the summer.

I do it every year for the junior high, for example, last year was all about artists of San Francisco.

And somewhat prompted by the Ruth Asawa Show at, um, the Sfm OMA.

Yeah.

And, um, I researched.

Who might be in your, you know, who might have lived in your neighborhood.

And it was kind of neat because we worked with, we worked on a, a unit about a famous graphic designer who lived just a few blocks away from school.

We talked a little about Alexander Calder, who lived on the top of Russian Hill and, um, where Ruth Asawa had lived, um, over by Polk Street for a while.

And it was great 'cause the kids were like, wait a minute, I live near there, you know, to go to school.

So I found that focusing on things that were very relevant to them helped art be even more compelling.

One year I did a theme of art expresses you when you talked a lot about how art can be an outlet for your emotions.

You know, you can express yourself without.

Having a fight or yelling or resorting to violence or, or doing something inappropriate it's, uh, and so I show them lots of, uh, examples of people who are expressing emotion through their art.

That was a really fun year to do too.

Um, the year that we're doing right now is art and storytelling.

So it's gonna be a lot about the power of art to set a scene, tell a story, and, um, we're gonna kick off with a, a series of field trips to the De Young Museum where we're going to be seeing the Magna ma Magna you okay.

The Japanese anime, there are different ways to pronounce it.

Exhibition at the de Young, which should be really interesting.

Yeah.

Um, again, this is something kids got really excited about because they see so much, you know, Japanese, an and Japanese inspired animation.

Thomas Boles: Yeah.

I love, I love hearing about all these connections because it just brings things to life.

You know, if you're initially you're, you're connecting to what's going on in the classroom and you're connecting what's going on in their neighborhood, what's going on in their lives, what might be going on internally.

I mean, there's.

The, uh, the theme there is that if we're making connections to things outside of what we're physically doing, that we're gonna be able to do even more with that medium.

Mm-hmm.

That's such a great way of looking at it.

And of course, you know, the, the, the typical art I was, you know, I would never consider myself art teacher, but when I was teaching you, you pick out things like, you know, Valentine's Day and this day and that day, and you do fun things like that.

Of course, that's fine.

When you can take it to another level and really you know, incorporate the community their families, whatever it might be, you really make stronger connections and that sticks with them.

So it's, it's really cool to hear about how that curriculum gets made and how those connections get made.

Abby: And I try as well to come up with projects that have a lot to do with the process.

I just try to get away.

You know, kids get so self-conscious in junior high, I can't draw, I can't do that.

They're worried about what their neighbor's doing next, you know, at the art table.

And I try to do things where there's just you can't do it wrong.

And it's more about the process than the end result.

And, you know, things where you can express yourself.

I'm kind of jumping around, but one of the things I just love about the art program is when I see kids shine, kids who literally won't get up from their table at the end of class, who maybe are, you know, they might be struggling in some other.

Subjects.

Mm-hmm.

Or they might not be, you know, um, uh, originally thinking, you might not originally think from their background, oh, they're gonna be, you know, great in art, but they, they
really take off with it and they could really have fun with it and lose that self-consciousness because it's, it's just it's fun to explore the materials or the topic that we're on.

Thomas Boles: Yeah.

Well, I, I think that's true of, of, you know, any great.

Learning experiences.

You know, kids are like, you know, diamonds in the rough, right?

And they're just polishing slowly, slowly, uncovering the beauty that's inside.

And it's not like they're achieving something.

They're just becoming more themselves, right?

Mm-hmm.

Abby: And so if

Thomas Boles: they're able to express themselves in any, any way, you know, whatever, whatever the way that they do it.

It's such a beautiful thing when you can see a kid like truly as themselves, and I think, you know, walking around the school there and seeing how much of the art is out there, you can see a lot of kids are.

Are are finding that for themselves.

It's really incr incredible.

One of the things I always push at most places is like, you know, keep your digital stuff digital, so let's not like type something and print it and let's keep our, our paper stuff paper and the artwork that you're having the kids do.

And, and even with the K through five group, that is like living.

Everywhere on the walls.

I mean, they don't need to paint in the summertime because by September the walls will be covered.

Yeah, exactly.

And it's such a beautiful thing.

I mean like, I'd love to see that.

Even if it's not your kid, of course you wanna see your own kid, but just walking through the hallways and seeing all of this work and intentional.

Yeah.

It's not just, you know, rainbows.

Abby: Right, right.

And one thing I, I try to do in junior high too is to come up with projects and topics where each piece of art will look different in the class.

So it's not just the wrote, like, let's all you know, copy do an orange.

Yeah, exactly.

It's like, oh, you interpreted it this way, or yours looks like this.

Mine looked like that.

I use these colors.

So I like to keep, um, you know, a central supply table in the middle of the classroom and let the kids just visit it to get whatever they need as opposed to like, Hey, everything you need is already on a tray, you know, on the table.

But to see what they can do is really fun.

So

Thomas Boles: That's fun.

Yeah.

So then when you.

Take a full year's worth of stuff together and you normally would just say, let's throw that in a folder and send it home.

But instead, at some point you came up with the Sunrise art show.

Abby: Yes.

And that was an evolution as well when I was doing those art workshops, I thought, and by the time I got to third grade, I'm like, you know what, other people need to see this.

Yeah.

You know, they're doing it and they're taking it home.

Wait a minute.

You know, so we started the, the Sunrise Art Show on a small scale in way back in 2003.

And maybe it was.

Three tables in the cafeteria at the most.

Nothing on the walls, just things on the table laid out.

And I did it, um, early in the morning so I could catch people, um, dropping off their kids and, it just grew from there.

And then when I got ahold of the junior high and was able to, um, work more with them I really wanted to take advantage of all the space in the, in the cafeteria.

We've spilled over now into the stage and now we're, we're eating our way into the gym.

Yeah, with some mobile partitions.

But it.

One of the things I need to mention about the art program that I didn't earlier was that I think it, it was a great thing and, and because
of these art shows, we, when we started there became a, a rallying cry from the K through five parents of like, we need this art earlier too.

And um, so I recruited another parent at the school who was.

Also kind of my background as well.

Graphic designer.

Mm-hmm.

I've worked in communications and that was Mary Bler.

And she came in and started the K through five art program using a preexisting program called Art in Action.

And uh, in that program, parents come in and they're involved in, you know, the pro the project that day.

I don't have the parents come in in junior high.

'cause I feel like the kids can, they can take it from here.

Right, right.

And then Mary retired a few years ago, and then the wonderful Bruce Eska is leading the K through five program, and he was also a former graphic designer.

He's also an improv actor.

He just brings a lot of fun to the classroom and both Mary and Bruce.

Use the Art and Action program, but they also tailor it.

So it's not cookie cutter, um Right, right.

Respond to things going on as well in current times.

So, I just love the way the art show draws the parents in.

People always come by, including the teacher saying, I never knew they could do this.

You know, and, um, yeah.

You know, I, I had no idea they were capable of this.

I think it's really good for our school.

To show off the art to, you know, a large group you know, pre COVID Also, we used to kinda invite more of the public.

It's a little dicey.

You know, you have to make sure you know who's coming in the building.

Of course.

Try to invite, you know, community leaders and people from our archdiocese, um, administration in to see what we're doing.

Excellent.

Um, PR, if you will, for our school.

Thomas Boles: Yeah.

It's, it's so important to extend the audience.

I think the, you know, the event by itself already does that by, it's such a smart thing not to do it at nighttime.

You're doing it in the morning.

And for those folks that don't know, UMES and schools will typically have a, you know, morning assembly, uh, very open and public morning assembly.

And so those folks are coming to drop off their kids and maybe hanging out for assembly anyway.

Let's get more of those folks into the building, seeing the artwork.

So they're already, it's already a natural part of their progress.

So you've extended the audience to the parents and, and that, and then you're extending the audience again to the community, to the larger arts Esan group.

It's such a great way to elevate the importance, the impact of what they're doing, uh, and just makes for, it makes for a great event.

I mean, I love to see the times where I've really been able to like.

Hunker down and spend some time the different mediums that the kids are doing.

But also, you know, there's alumni coming back and wanting to be a part of that.

Or you've got kids playing the piano for entertainment.

I mean, there's just so many ways that this is.

A beautiful expression of what the school can do and what the art program can do.

Yeah.

So I applaud you so much.

It's such a great, such a great event, such a great program.

Abby: Oh, thank you so much.

That means a lot.

And, uh, we, I, I have to say, you know, I think the art program works so well because of a couple things.

One is our principal has given it very strong support.

She's backed at on all levels, including financially.

We were able to take an old unused room in the school and soundproof the ceiling.

Buy furniture.

Buy shelving buy boards, you know, she backed making it a real genuine art, art room.

And, um, we also have support from our parents.

I mentioned the volunteers in K through five, but you know, obviously people who come to the art show and also a lot of people donate things, it'll be so sweet, you know, oh, we need, you know, we have this or that from our office or our home.

Um, I'm always getting stuff from parents.

We have also another key to successes we have backing from our teachers.

Mm-hmm.

Um, they appreciate that they'll draw in what we're doing.

Um, we touch base a lot about, um, how this is relevant to what's being taught.

And, um, I should say back to Dr. Harris, I should mention that also she is wonderful in that she lets me develop a new junior high curriculum every summer, um, for the following fall.

She is comfortable with that.

She really knows that we're, you know, we're trying to make it relevant to where kids are at, try to meet them where they're at.

Thomas Boles: That's huge.

Yeah.

Especially if, if this was just a twinkle in your eye at one point to, to get the support of the school and you know, the principal to, to fully give you, you know, permission to do whatever you think.

And it's obviously it's pay dividends, right?

The, the kids have shown what they can do.

And it's, it's a beautiful thing to see.

Do you have plans for what might be next or how would you challenge yourself going forward?

Abby: Oh my gosh.

I think to uh, you know, continue something that I've been trying to do on and off, but do it with more deliberation is it is so effective when I can
get an alum, and by alum I mean like somebody who's in high school or college or even beyond, to come back and talk to the particularly junior high.

I've done that a few times.

Um, when they're home for break or you know, I still stay in contact with a lot of, of the kids.

Um, they'll come in and say.

You know, what I learned here was really special.

I'll have kids come in from high school and say, oh my gosh, you know, I, uh, was able to, you know, say, I'm Jeffrey Gibson is, you know, when a teacher might reference.

That's a, a contemporary artist right now, working today.

And, um.

I think it's really powerful to hear from someone who's not much older than you are that art can be a way of living, it can be a career.

And I'm always telling the kids, you don't have to be a starving artist, you know, in an attic, right.

They're really, really wonderful ways to keep creativity and art in your, in your, um, life going forward.

So I would say, you know, continuing to get uh, alum, uh, would be a, a goal of mine is to, to have the kids here from peers would be, I know something that I can improve upon and do more of.

Thomas Boles: Yeah, it's, I think it's great when you can make those connections.

Once again, I mean, it just I'm sensing a theme here in our conversation.

It's just continually making connections to.

You know, the kids' lives, the community the larger community of San Francisco and, and art in general.

But by bringing back the alumni, you're, you're checking all kinds of boxes and me making it even more relevant for the kids.

So that just makes it, uh, you know, it makes it a whole lot more.

I can, I've had many conversations with other art teachers or, or programs, whatever, and they just, you know, you feel like it's, um.

We've got this half hour week and it's just gonna be this little thing that gets tucked in the corner and you've found a way to shine a light on all that and to make it into something that's truly uh, remarkable.

Something that the school wants to celebrate.

I think, you know, if somebody could see, and obviously we can't invite everybody who might be listening here, but if somebody could see the wall to wall covering of artwork when we have the Sunrise Art show, uh, it's pretty impressive.

And the quality of work is very impressive.

So hats off again to you and, uh, and in this case Bruce and of course Mary before that for all the work that you've done to make this program what it is.

Abby: Thank you very much.

Yeah.

You'll, you know what's half the fun of the art show is putting it up the day before.

Once started counting all the tape loops that we made and a week.

Thomas Boles: Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Abby: We were well over 2000, so, uh,

Thomas Boles: wow.

Yeah.

And the, the hardest part is then taking it down.

Abby: Yeah.

Well, it's okay.

Taking it down goes pretty quickly actually.

It's putting it up.

That's, uh, but, but it's, it works out, you know, it works out really well.

And I again, we've talked about it a lot.

We would love to invite more people in the community.

It's just a, it's just important to know who's coming through the door, but Oh yeah, definitely.

But, you know, you mentioned things in the future.

I'm, I'm always thinking, you know what, I need to put more of it online.

That would be a great way to, to showcase it.

It just gets so busy at the end of the year.

But we did that during c and I still have that link around and people still look at it, so I, yeah.

Probably improve by, by sharing it more digitally.

Yeah.

Thomas Boles: Yeah.

Okay.

Well as, as we get close to the end here I have one last question for you, and that is if there was an art teacher who was listening to this now and kind of dreaming about what they could do,
what might be some first steps you could give them, you know, if, if they were trying to build something, something similar to what you've got going where, where would you tell em to start?

Abby: Well, it sounds simplistic, but one of the things I like to do is read what the kids are writing during the year.

I do go through the hallways and I read their work that's posted.

They'll do a information about themselves at the beginning of the year topics that they're talking about.

Obviously, I'll read the School, our wonderful school newspaper.

And really try to hone in on, oh, I'm seeing this being mentioned a lot, or this seems to be a challenge.

The other thing I do is I always have them do a sketch assignment in the summer so that they can keep, act, like, keep their eyes and.

Find motor skills going and, um, I like to look at what they've picked up on, you know, what kind of mm-hmm.

Imagery they're pick their, um, copying or their drawing or where they've been traveling, and that helps me get grounded on what would be relevant to them.

And, um, that's kind of what I would say my advice would be for a starting point is there are zillions of art programs online and, you know, there's lots of great examples.

I just try to start first with where are they at or what was the big trend this, you know, this past year or something.

And um, and then when you announce something that has something to do with that, they really get into it and get excited.

Thomas Boles: Oh, that's great.

Such an easy first step too.

So practical.

Well, Abby, we appreciate your time and we wanna highlight Saints Peter Paul School in San Francisco, California North Beach District, and the website ss Peter Paul sf.org.

And maybe eventually we're gonna get that Instagram link reattached.

Okay.

So we can see all the, all the beautiful art.

But thank you for, for all that you do and for sharing your story with us.

Abby: Oh, Thomas, thank you for all you do for our school.

It wouldn't, you know, wouldn't be functioning so smoothly without you and your team.

And I thank you so much for your interest in the art program.

Thomas Boles: Alright, well have a great day.

Abby: Okay, thank you.

Bye-bye.

Bye.

Thomas Boles: Thanks for joining us on In Search of Catholic School Excellence.

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