Westwood High School named Arts Integrated High School

Westwood High School announced that it has been named an Arts Integrated High School by the Arts and Basic Curriculum (ABC) Project.  Since its inception in 2012, Westwood High School has focused on arts integration by incorporating academics and the fine arts in school-wide projects.  Dr. Maria Kratsios, Richland School District Two Associate for Advanced Programs, extended congratulations to Westwood High School for providing such extensive arts experiences for their students.  Westwood High School was awarded a $12,050.00 Distinguished Arts Program (DAP) grant, the second such grant the school has received.

With a dedicated and arts-focused faculty, Westwood High School teachers planned and mounted the first Renaissance Faire in the spring of 2013 in which students connected the fine arts with subject areas under the school-wide theme of the Renaissance.  The faculty continued to plan and sustain Arts Integrated lessons with such projects as the following:

1. Globalize 13 addressing human trafficking and the 150^th anniversary of the 13^th Amendment to end slavery in the United States
2. Gullah Gumbo which celebrates the Gullah Culture
3. Strange Warfare focusing on the spontaneous Christmas truce that occurred during World War I
4. Celebrating African-Americans: Making our Forefathers Proud celebrating the accomplishments of African-Americans
5. Fiesta De Westwood illuminating the accomplishments of Hispanic Americans
6. Three highly successful Westwood Renaissance Faires

Two years ago, Westwood became an iRED Magnet School which focuses on Research, Engagement, and Design to which our arts integrated projects have been a crucial component.   In 2013, Westwood received the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) grant becoming the STEAM high school for Richland 2.  Arts integration is a key component of STEAM lessons.  The Westwood Fine Arts Department applied for and was successfully funded as a Distinguished Arts Program (DAP) grant recipient in 2014 and now again in 2015; in January 2015 the Fine Arts Department then applied for and was successfully funded as an Arts in Basic Curriculum (ABC) site.  These grants have provided over $30,000 for Arts Integrated lessons, performances, and professional development, attendance at Summer Arts Institutes, and Arts Integration planning release time for Westwood Fine Arts and subject area teachers.

Westwood has in place its Westwood Arts Integration Foundation (WAIF) which is comprised of Westwood faculty, students, parents, Westwood and Richland 2 administrators, and business and arts leaders in the Blythewood community, the location of Westwood High School. Meeting four times each school year, WAIF has been instrumental in designing arts integrated projects and presentations at Westwood for the past three years.  Community involvement has been crucial to improve the quality of Westwood arts integrated performances and projects.

As an Arts Integrated High School in Richland School District Two, Westwood students will work on arts-based projects to engage students in learning subject areas through the arts which allows them to study, conduct research, and creatively problem solve.

Future arts integrated projects at Westwood High School include Little Shop of Horrors with a study of carnivorous plants March 17 and 18, 2016, and the fourth annual Westwood Renaissance Faire on April 15, 2016. Both events are open to the public. For more information, please contact Dr. Anne S. Richardson, Westwood Fine Arts Chair and Grants Manager at [email protected] or by calling 803-691-4049, ext. 36703.

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