Breathing Art into Learning at Redding School of the Arts

There is a unique school in Redding, California where students are moving and grooving and acting, creating images of life, nature and the imagination with brush strokes or graphite, and translating the world through the lens of a camera. At Redding School of the Arts (RSA), art is embraced as a balance to academics from kindergarten through high school graduation. It provides an educational environment for students who live and breathe the arts, a school where they are given opportunities to explore the visual and performing arts every day. Three art teachers, Cassandra Plummer (high school), Erika Warmington (middle school) and Richard Cherveny (elementary school) collaborate with each other and work alongside other teachers to bring the worlds of academics and the arts together.

RSA teachers work closely with students to prepare them for a career in the arts.

RSA eighth grader Peyton practices pen and ink figure drawing.

Students explore many facets of art at RSA

RSA opened its doors in 1999 as a California charter school committed to a learning environment where education and the arts connect. Starting as a K-8 school, it now extends to high school graduation. An integral part of the RSA experience is the joyful connections students make with each other, artists connecting with artists, growing friendships and celebrating what makes them special as artistic individuals.

Visual and Performing Arts teacher Richard Cherveny has been working with students from kindergarten through eighth grade on the fundamentals of fine arts for the last five years and joined the RSA teaching staff this year. In addition to teaching visual and performing art for grades K-4, he teaches three electives: exploratives in various mediums (grades 4-5), design (grades 6-8), and prop building and stage craft (grades 6-8). His years of working in the arts have confirmed Richard’s belief that, “We learn math, science and language arts so that we can become better artists, artists who then see the world, reflect on it and respond to it with truth, goodness and beauty.”

Visual Arts teacher Erika Warmington teaches third through eighth graders, developing lessons to meet her students at all different levels. She says, “I feel it is important to expose young students to a wide variety of media because it allows them to find something they can enjoy doing in the arts. It can give them a safe place to express themselves and be more aware of multiple perspectives and understanding of ideas.” Her classes offer students a variety of art experiences including printmaking, sewing, felting, digital art, painting and 3D projects. She teaches the elements of arts using various mediums (grades 3-8), the principles of design using digital and other mediums (grades 6-8) and stage craft and set design (grades 6-8).

Blending core studies with art boosts learning, comprehension, retention

High school students at RSA can benefit from small class sizes in math, English, history, social studies and science. From K-8 grades, RSA students may be immersed in a Mandarin language program, but by high school Mandarin is offered to teens as a language class just like French and Spanish along with culinary arts, music, theater and visual arts. Students are singing, dancing, acting and designing theater props and promotional posters for theater productions. They may be considering the life of bugs in science class and learning to draw them in art class. Teachers work together to stimulate learning, understanding that a student struggling in math or science may excel in art. Purposely blending those domains can help the student thrive by involving all senses in the learning process to better understand and integrate academic subjects.

Young RSA students Mackenzie and Kenneth learn to express their artistic talents through a wide variety of media.

RSA students’ artistic talents blossom through deeper study in high school

As the RSA high school art teacher, Cassandra Plummer takes students on a deep dive into the visual arts, progressing through drawing, painting, ceramics (the studio has 10 ceramic wheels), sculpture, photography (cameras and iPads provided), print making and digital arts using Adobe and Procreate illustration and editing programs. Student abilities range from beginner to advanced and getting to know her students allows Cassandra to customize a visual arts program that helps them explore and create one-of-a-kind works of art. One of her students uses his exceptional eye for detail to create highly realistic drawings. Others are producing drawings that can be mistaken for a photograph. A student strong in character illustration is building Pixar-style animation drawings. Some very advanced students are taking college classes in glassblowing, watercolor and figure drawing.

RSA has provided Mathias Hechavarria the opportunity to develop his talent in portraiture, evident in the stunning pencil portrait he recently drew of a weathered fisherman.

For students that are just beginning in the arts, Cassandra takes them through a step-by-step process to help them see as an artist. Each student takes baby steps through a project until they proudly complete it. She urges them not to give up, but to follow her lead, believing it is a life lesson for them to build skills, one-by-one, to see what they can achieve.

Cassandra’s goal is to provide an RSA education that helps prepare teens who love the arts for a career in the arts. She’s excited about the introduction of new Career Technical Pathways courses designed to help teenagers understand how to connect art with industry, identifying the pathway to not just a job, but an art career that they love.

          Families interested in pursuing a spot for their child at Redding School of the Arts may apply for enrollment. Applications are entered into an annual lottery system and a select number of hopeful families are called to confirm enrollment. To learn more, visit rsarts.org or call 530-247-6933.